Olney teen overdoses on fentanyl

A 13-year-old Olney Junior High School student died of a suspected fentanyl overdose in Wichita Falls recently, prompting Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck to warn that the powerful opioid poses a deadly threat to anyone who ingests contraband pills or THC-infused candies.

“We have not seen it yet but we have intelligence that it is here,” he said. “I know we say over and over again not to do it but kids still want to experiment and try things whether it’s through peer pressure or whatever.”

Kaysen Villarreal died of a suspected fentanyl overdose the weekend of Sept. 17-18 in Wichita Falls at the home of friends. His mother told local news media that she learned of his death when someone posted a photo on Snapchat of Kaysen lying on the floor unconscious after having taken pills for a headache..

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, and is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Illegally manufactured fentanyl comes in powder and liquid form and is often mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, or made into pills or small candies, the CDC said. Its liquid form can also be used in nasal sprays and eye drops, the agency said.

Many people are unaware that their drugs are laced with fentanyl, Chief Birbeck said.

“These are not professionally made drugs in a lab somewhere that is being prescribed by a doctor and the FDA is overseeing the manufacture of this stuff,” he said. “You can very easily and inadvertently get an overdose of fentanyl and it doesn’t take but a pin drop of that stuff to kill you. Parents need to be vigilant, monitoring their kids’ activities and for the kids out there, beware. It could be the last thing you ever do on this earth.”