Marquita Berry vividly recalls the moment she walked into her son’s bedroom last October, hearing soft music playing in the background. She found him seated cross-legged at the foot of the bed, leaning forward with an earbud resting on his shoulder. With a heavy heart, she reached out to touch him, realizing that her eldest son, James Stafford, had succumbed to fentanyl less than a year ago. James, a father of three, had been battling addiction to pain pills and tragically found death in a fentanyl-laced pill in the small town of Richburg, South Carolina. Along with James, twelve of his friends also lost their lives to fentanyl in 2022.
Ms. Berry joined hundreds at the “Lost Voices of Fentanyl” event in Washington on July 13, demanding policy changes to prevent further tragedies caused by the deadly drug. She firmly believes that China, as a major source of fentanyl, is responsible for her son’s overdose and called for an end to ties with the country. Ms. Berry expressed her deep sorrow turning into anger towards the situation, and she believes that an open border has facilitated the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States by cartels through Mexico.
The fentanyl crisis has been likened to a modern-day Opium War, drawing parallels to the historical conflict between the British and Chinese. The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conducted an investigation, revealing evidence of China using fentanyl as a tool of unconventional warfare against the West. The committee uncovered that over 97% of fentanyl precursors originate from China, with top Chinese officials and the CCP engaging in money laundering through cryptocurrency transactions related to fentanyl production. Additionally, the committee found that Chinese companies producing fentanyl analog chemicals are protected within China, allowing them to operate and export these deadly substances.
Despite efforts to address the fentanyl crisis, loopholes in anti-money laundering regulations and the promotion of fentanyl production by China remain significant challenges. The committee’s investigation highlighted the CCP’s protection of fentanyl traffickers and their lack of cooperation with U.S. law enforcement efforts. As the crisis persists, many are calling for more stringent measures to combat the influx of fentanyl and hold those responsible for its production and distribution accountable. Bagwell found the remaining pills in her son’s room after his death and had them tested. The pills were found to contain fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid.
Since her son’s death, Ms. Bagwell has been advocating for greater awareness of the dangers of counterfeit pills and the presence of fentanyl in them.
She warns others about the risks of buying medications from unverified sources and urges people to be vigilant about what they are consuming.
As the fentanyl crisis continues to claim lives across the country, stories like Ryan Christopher Bagwell’s serve as a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of drug trafficking and the importance of combating it at every level.
Bagwell stated that Mexican cartels are believed to have control over certain pharmacies in Mexico, where they sell authentic-looking pills in sealed bottles. She discovered Snapchat photos of pills purchased in Mexico on her son’s phone. Three months after his passing, Ms. Bagwell found a bottle of Percocet in his room and handed it over to authorities for testing. The counterfeit pills from Mexico contained 11 milligrams of fentanyl, which is five times the lethal dose. Fentanyl is considered lethal at 2 milligrams, equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt.
According to the Texas Health and Human Services Department, counterfeit pills resembling prescription opioids like oxycodone, Percocet, hydrocodone (Vicodin), and alprazolam (Xanax), or stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall) are being made. These pills are often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms, making them easily accessible to individuals, including teenagers and young adults. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has found that as many as 7 in 10 seized pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Ms. Bagwell holds Mexican cartels and China responsible for the fentanyl crisis that claimed her son’s life. She believes that closing the border could potentially save lives, although she acknowledges that cartels would still find ways to smuggle in drugs. She emphasized that China plays a significant role in the fentanyl crisis, stating that it feels like a war on American families.
She described fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction that is devastating families across the United States. Epoch Times reporter Joseph Lord contributed to this report. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite the following sentence:
Original: “The cat lazily stretched out in the sunbeam.”
Rewritten: “The cat leisurely extended its body in the warmth of the sunbeam.”
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