On October 18, students of Benet Academy heard from Dean Jeske on the dangers of fentanyl. This fatal drug is becoming increasingly widespread among adolescents, and how his son was a victim of the epidemic. Misused drugs have killed many teenagers before and will continue to kill countless more. Jeske gravely told the audience of more than a thousand students that “in the last year, the deaths of teens due to fentanyl has gone up 52%.”

Therefore, Jeske and the organization Song for Charlie work to raise awareness of this seemingly “recent” drug to prevent more unfortunate tragedies from happening to unsuspecting teens. Their goal is for more teenagers and young adults to be better equipped with knowledge on this fatal drug so they can make wise decisions and avoid it. Jeske spoke on the dangers of fentanyl, a drug that is much more potent than heroin or morphine. The tiniest amount of fentanyl can be even more fatal than these drugs, but many people do not know about it. 

Then, Jeske shared the tragic story of his son. Peter Jeske was a college student who, like many others, was concerned about studying for exams, so he opted to stay home while his roommate went out. Peter did not have a history of taking drugs, but he took one pill, which ended his life that night in the pill was laced with a small amount of fentanyl. Sadly, Peter is far from the only victim of this fatal drug. There are over 50,000 other heartbreaking stories of overdose and deaths for which fentanyl was responsible. 

“40% of pills confiscated by the DEA were counterfeit fentanyl pills,” Jeske said, highlighting the dangers of consuming pills from unknown sources. Unfortunately, the media and peer pressure expose teens to fentanyl and other drugs 

Jeske continues his mission to spread information about fentanyl so other adolescents will not take a pill that can end their lives.

For more information on fentanyl and how one can support and spread awareness, visit https://www.songforcharlie.org.