Thread by @jeppdx

Zach matters.For all the reasons an 18 year old should matter to all of us. A beautiful soul taken too soon, like many recently lost to illicit fentanyl packaged in a fake pill that could take any kid. And he matters like all those lost to the horrific toll of drug poisoning. (1)

https://twitter.com/songforcharlie/status/1449005890972102662

See, Zach didn’t know the Perc he bought on line wasn’t safe.’Should’ our kids take pills not prescribed to them? Nope. But many ‘do’, believing this is low risk when in fact it’s more dangerous than anything.Fact: Youth experiment.(2) oregonlive.com/health/2021/05…

And others, looking for something more fundamental to their day, brought on by the pains they suffer chronically, due to something beyond their control, have been struck down as well.We should weep for them and their families as @LauraADidier & Chris Didier do for Zach. (3)

Illicit fentanyl has thoroughly contaminated the street supply of drugs; nothing is safe. Shamefully, most of us (me included) turned our collective head and figured it did not apply to us. Every soul matters…and now souls close to you are at risk because it’s everywhere. (4)

There is no escaping this, only mitigating.The death toll continues to climb and until there is meaningful action, nothing will change. Because fentanyl & synthetics to follow are here. And they are in *almost* everything today, and *every*thing tomorrow. (5)

https://twitter.com/jeppdx/status/1443559425327861770

This shouldn’t have happened to Zach.And it shouldn’t have happened to thousands of others. Placer County, CA where Zach went to school and acted in the school play and ran track and filled out his college applications is but just a tragic sample of what is happening all over (6)

I’m thankful to @DEAHQ for recent alert & work to stem the supply from China/Mexico. Thankful to @stoptheVOID & @ANFHelp & @poisonedtodeath for putting proper pressure on social media Snapchat, Facebook, etc for the role they play, and on legislatures (7) dea.gov/onepill

And thankful to @OfFentanyl & @SafeMedicines and @derekmaltz_sr and @c0lettea + so many others for raising awareness on this topic. Huzzah! @SongforCharlie and @BeavertonSD for their action to directly speak to youth while adults duke it out. (8) songforcharlie.org/school-educati…

Also thankful for @DrDavid_IDEM and @RyanMarino and @DrugPolicyOrg + many others advocating for harm reduction and rightly making the point that poor policy caused this problem, but also acknowledging that it is worth it to warn youth of the risk of unsafe supply (9)

https://twitter.com/drdavid_idem/status/1447962753046618113

But, I plead to all, that we must work together to WARN THE KIDS, AND reduce the supply, AND engage in thoughtful research-based policies that comprehend the reality on the ground and our shared humanity. We owe it to each other and to our future (10)

We must think AND, not OR. While we debate the problem that we created in our polarized ways, our future light ebbs. WARN.THE. KIDS. I implore you to hold Zach, and others we’ve lost, in your heart…and continue to do all you can to save lives. Honor Zach and them. (END)

songforcharlie.org @oliviasolon @tvkatesnow @NickKristof @noellecrombie @SchreiberEvan @samhsagov @generationsosus @POTUS @VP @brycepardo @EBischoff @MichaelKeaton @MadelynBeck8 @TimSarquis @OpioidHysteria @Twolfrecovery @GhanaboyPharmd @markwahlberg @JWahlly

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