ORLANDO, Fla. — Putting names and faces to a drug crisis was the mission Thursday as the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Miami field division held the first family summit event in Orlando to discuss the dangers and the loss associated with fentanyl.

What You Need To Know

  • Families who have lost loved ones due to drugs spoke Thursday at The 2024 Regional Family Summits

  • The event focused on the consequences that a small amount of fentanyl can have

  • Florida officials also discussed what they are doing to combat the dangers of fentanyl

At Thursday’s 2024 Regional Family Summits at Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa, dozens of DEA agents sat alongside families who’ve lost loved ones to drug overdoses or drug poisoning, and 42 photos represented those families. 

In 2023, the DEA seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. Those seizures are the equivalent of 381 million lethal doses.

The conversation was geared toward raising awareness about the specific dangers of fentanyl.

“Fentanyl remains the most emerging drug threat that we’ve ever seen in the United States,” said Deanne Reuter, special agent in charge of the DEA Miami field division. “It’s taking its toll. It’s the leading cause of death between ages of 18 and 45 years old (from) drug overdoses and poisonings. And a lot of the people who overdose on fentanyl don’t even know, or realize, that they’re taking it.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid analgesic that has legal and safe uses. 

But the DEA said many people can purchase fake prescription drugs or medications online, not knowing that fentanyl, potentially a lethal dose, is mixed into them. The DEA said many of these fake pills are made by two Mexican drug cartels, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco (CJNG) Cartel, to look identical to real prescription medications, especially pain medications, and they are often deadly.

The issue hits close to home in Central Florida. The Orlando Police Department said it has seized close to 1,500 grams of fentanyl this year.

It also hits close to home for Della Wiggins, whose son Jon died at 46 years old because of fentanyl.

"I don’t call it overdose. I call it poisoning," Wiggins said.

"It was a long struggle for Jon after he got out of the Marines, and I never realized how seriously he was hurt mentally." 

Although her son isn't alive anymore, she said she is going to keep fighting.

"If we can save one life by talking, then we need to keep talking, and that’s my mission," Wiggins said.

Experts at the summit said there is no face or stereotype behind a fentanyl overdose. The victims are not just drug addicts and are usually loved by many people.

“The morning that I found my son dead on the floor of his bedroom, I had no idea that this chemical existed, no idea,” said Suzy Pereira of the Blue Plaid Society, an organization dedicated to fentanyl awareness, education and prevention. “I only learned about it 30 minutes later, when the detective came to my house and told me what she suspected.”

Pereira’s 26-year-old son died in 2021 from fentanyl poisoning. She said since his death she has made it her mission to educate people, saying you don’t have to be an addict to fall victim to fentanyl. Many people die after ingesting the drug the first time, she said.

Other family members warned not to experiment with the highly addictive drug.

Justin Boren said he also lost his brother Landon to fentanyl at just 17 years old, and this month will mark one year since his death.

“This is not a safe world to be experimenting with drugs," Boren said. "Educate yourself on harm reduction and how to administer Narcan. Experimenting with drugs is Russian roulette and can affect any person in your life.”

Officials and families hammered home the message that the smallest amount of the drug can be lethal. According to the DEA, as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be considered a lethal dose. The drug is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroine, the DEA said.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who spoke during the summit, said seven out of 10 fake pills seized are believed to have a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Lamia Moukaddam, a health care advocate with Pineapple Healthcare in Orlando, spends her days in the community helping those whose lives have been affected by fentanyl.

"The amount of times that we hear about fentanyl overdoses is daily," she said.

Not stigmatizing people who use drugs can help them, too, Moukaddam said.

"The way we treat them needs to be consistent with somebody who doesn’t use drugs," she said. 

Supplies like Narcan can be a powerful tool in case of an overdose. Narcan is a medication that can help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and experts said it's not a bad idea to keep it with you on the go because you never know who you may come across who might need it.

Narcan is available at several locations across Central Florida free of charge.