AG Moody: New study shows children under 14 dying at fastest rate due to fentanyl

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody warned parents of the dangers of fentanyl after a new study showed that children under the age of 14 are dying faster than any other group.

The study was conducted by Families Against Fentanyl. Fentanyl continues to be the number one killer of adults 18-45.

AG Moody is urging Floridians to never use illicit drugs and is sharing the Fast Facts on Fentanyl Toolkit to help parents talk to their children about fentanyl.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This is disturbing news, and as the mother of a school-aged child, I want to make sure every family is engaging in an open dialog about the dangers posed by massive amounts of illicit drugs flooding into our country. We have known for a while about the skyrocketing fentanyl deaths among young adults—and we suspected it was having a growing impact on small children, but this report confirms the urgent public-safety risks all parents are now facing when trying to protect their children from this deadly synthetic poison flooding into our country from Mexico.”

In addition to the recent Families Against Fentanyl study, there are news reports of at least two high school students having complications from using vapes that are possibly laced with fentanyl. The attorney general is also encourage parents to talk to their children about the dangers of druge use.

The Fast Facts on Fentanyl Toolkit provides information for parents about protecting children from digital drug dealers. The resource highlights how drug dealers use social media to sell illicit substances and warns that those substances may contain deadly amounts of synthetic opioids. The toolkit also provides examples of emojis used as codes in online conversations regarding illicit drug transactions .To view the Fast Facts on Fentanyl Toolkit, click here. To view the toolkit in Spanish, click here.

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