Fentanyl is Now in Nearly All Illegal Drugs in the North Country. Here's Why That's so Dangerous

Today is International Overdose Awareness Day, a time to remember those who’ve died of drug overdoses.  

The extremely dangerous drug fentanyl has raised the stakes for drug users. In the North Country, fentanyl is now found laced into almost all illegal drugs. The DEA is saying it’s the cause of increasing overdoses across the state.

On a warm Saturday morning, Julie Pierce sat on the sofa in her 3-story home in Watertown, her wavy blond hair gently blowing across her shoulders in the breeze from a fan across the room. Pierce had her 9-month-old grandson next to her. 

In 2013, Pierce's son Nathan was out of prison after six and a half years. He had a job he liked, and plans for his future. Most of all, he’d finally stopped using heroin. This time she thought it was for good.

Then one day Pierce got a phone call. Nathan was in the hospital. She went to see him thinking he would be ok. 

"They didn't even tell me at the hospital that he was gone. They just took me to the door and opened the door with a sheet over and that was horrible," Pierce said. Nathan had died of an overdose. He was 30 years old.

Then, six years later, Pierce suffered another loss. Her daughter Jaimi went missing. Like her brother, Nathan, she had been using heroin since she was a teenager.

Her body was found two days later. She also overdosed. This time the hospital wouldn’t let Pierce see the body. She said both her children tried for 20 years to get off drugs after getting hooked when they were teenagers. 

"The first time is a choice. If you have an addictive personality, it's not a choice after that, your chemistry in your brain changes and that's normal. And having it is not normal," Pierce said.

Both Nathan and Jaimi had fentanyl in their bodies when they overdosed. 

Ordering drugs with a smartphone

"This synthetic opioid fentanyl is the most highly addicting, synthetic opioid on the market," said Frank A. Tarentino III, head of the DEA in New York State. 

According to Tarentino, more fentanyl is coming into the North Country from Mexican cartels that are expanding their reach further into rural communities. 

"So the more fentanyl they can put into their drugs, the more people they can get addicted. This is why we're seeing an increase in fentanyl and other drugs. More specifically in cocaine and heroin," Tarentino said. 

It’s also in marijuana, crystal meth, fake prescription pills, and MDMA or ecstasy. Tarentino said a dose the size of a dozen grains of salt can kill an adult. He said it’s also easier to buy.

"Drug trafficking is now in our homes, it's in our homes because it's on our devices. It's in our homes because our children are falling victim and prey to these predatory drug trafficking networks and criminal organizations that are pushing their product over these social media platforms," he said.

Cartels use every means possible to advertise and deliver their drugs. The pandemic lockdowns didn’t slow their drug sales. They just expanded to e-commerce like any other business. 

Help and support

In St. Lawrence County alone 79 people have overdosed so far this year, more than in all of 2021.

At the county’s opioid treatment clinic in Canton, they help people get over addiction. The clinic offers medical-assisted treatments like suboxone or methadone. They also help to find housing, mental health counseling and get a job.

Since 2020, the number of overdoses in St. Lawrence County has at least tripled, according to Sheena Smith, director of St. Lawrence County Addiction Services.

Smith said they have 12-year-olds testing positive for fentanyl who have only ever smoked pot. 

"We've seen many people overdose unknowingly on fentanyl for using other drugs. And so it's dangerous. And it seems to be in everything. I think you know, up here we were later starting with it. But now you know, we obviously toxicology test hundreds of people and we see what their drug test results are in, it's there. It's really scary because people just don't even know," she said.

Jessii Martin is one of the recovery coaches in the St. Lawrence clinic and is also in recovery. She used heroin and pills for several years in her teens. 

Martin said some people start recovery by gradually reducing the amount of a drug they’re using. But because of fentanyl’s potency, they’re still at risk of overdosing. Martin teaches her clients that fentanyl might be in any drug. She gives them testing strips that will detect fentanyl in drugs.

"You only have to use a very tiny residue of the substance so they’re not worried about, you know, that mindset, ‘well, I paid this much and you know, I have to get this feeling so I don’t want to use all this for the test.’ A lot of them take those and they take them very happily and willingly. Just to stay safe," she said.

Back in Watertown, Julie Pierce puts her grandson down for a nap. His name is Jamithan. It’s one of the ways the family has of remembering Jaime and Nathan.

"I say their names out loud every day. I talk about them every day. I try to keep them present in our world here," she said.

Pierce said she always told Nathan and Jaime they could tell her anything. She wants parents who have children with substance abuse problems to keep lines of communication open and never give up on their children.

There is a range of resources in the North Country to help people struggling with substance abuse problems and their families.

St. Lawrence Addiction Services: 315-386-2048

Suicide and Crisis Prevention Hotline: 988

Anchor Recovery Center of NNY: (315) 836-3460

Credo Community Center for Treatment of Addictions: (315) 788-1530

ACR Health: (315) 785-8222

Samaritan Addiction Services: (315) 779-5060

Samaritan Medical Center - Social Worker on Call: (315) 785-4516

Northern Regional Center for Independent Living: (315) 785-8703 business hours; and (315) 785-8708 nights and weekends.

Originally reported by Celia Clarke for North Country Public Radio