State of Fentanyl: Why you need to know about the dangers
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FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) – Fentanyl is to blame for more than 12,000 deaths in California last year. It prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to deploy additional Cal Guard soldiers to the southern border to help stop fentanyl from coming into the state. But why does fentanyl need so much attention?
The governor’s office released numbers this week that showed that Cal Guard seized more than 1.3 million fentanyl pills and more than 5,000 pounds of fentanyl across the state and at the southern border in March.
Fresno State coach loses son to fentanyl: ‘I don’t want anyone else to lose theirs’
CBS47’s Brian Dorman is leading a four-week project to find out just how dangerous fentanyl is and what is being done to stamp it out in California.
The project started this week with an interview with Pamela Smith. She lost her son to a fentanyl overdose nearly eight years ago. You can watch that interview in the video player above.
On Wednesday, Brian spoke to former Fresno State basketball coach Vonn Webb, who described the loss of his 26-year-old son Taelin to fentanyl. You can watch that interview in the video player below.
Webb has also started a fentanyl awareness non-profit called Stay Shaded designed to provide support in the fight against the fentanyl crisis. You can find out more about it here.
As well as parents who lost their children to fentanyl, Brian will also be speaking with a recovering addict about what fentanyl does to people, Fresno County’s District Attorney about fentanyl prosecutions, and General Matthew Beevers on what’s being done to stop fentanyl from spreading through California. Each of those interviews will air on CBS47 and be posted on YourCentralValley.com.
The four-week project concludes with a 30-minute special called “California’s Crisis: The State of Fentanyl” on May 28 airing on CBS47.
