Teen-age fentanyl deaths in a Texas county
I happen to live in Kyle and also have the experience of attending rehab twice (2016 and 2019). I was never into pills, although I would gladly take them if they were being offered by a friend at a party, or there was a prescription lying around the house. Thankfully I got my shit together and don&#x27;t engage in that type of destructive  behavior anymore. Some of the comments and replies posted in this thread seem quite out of touch with reality though...<p>I spoke to a few folks I attended rehab &#x2F; lived in a halfway house with, and those who had been using fentanyl said that nothing compared - subs, heroin, morphine, you name it. The first time I went to rehab, the majority of people there were there for pain pills and heroin. The second time around, almost all the opiate users were using or had at least tried fentanyl.<p>The problem with subs and methadone, is that it gets into your bones and both substances are addictive in themselves. Trading one addiction for another, even if less harmful, never works out well. Drugs being illegal isn&#x27;t the problem here - I used to think that if the US followed in the steps of Portugal, the country would be much better off - we&#x27;re talking school age kids here though. They&#x27;re not thinking about legal consequences nor are they going to seek out help. They&#x27;re going to try something out of boredom, some sort of mental state or because their friends are doing it, and with fentanyl many are going to end up dead.<p>It&#x27;s easy to understand why kids are becoming increasingly despondent and increasingly turning to drugs for an escape. They don&#x27;t have a chance to grow up before the weighty issues of the world are thrust upon their shoulders. Between social media, the news cycle, and the education system in our country - they&#x27;re being done no favors. When they can&#x27;t handle the load anymore, they often have no one to turn to as their parents are busy working to sustain a family. It&#x27;s going to require a reckoning (for all of humanity) of what is truly valuable in life - chasing a dollar or being present.<p>Reading the headlines, seeing the billboards, hearing the stories on the radio while driving is all pretty surreal. I&#x27;m not sure what the solution to the problem is, other than making sure one&#x27;s children know that they are loved and being the best parent one can. I know for me, fear is what caused me to use and that fear manifested itself in many forms - mostly a dissatisfaction with reality. I pretty much had to reshape my entire perspective regarding my existence and reason for being, before I found a way to move past my substance abuse issues. I&#x27;m not sure how you help a child realize there&#x27;s more to life than what can be perceived with our five senses, and that every life is worth infinitely more than a pill or a fun time, but I suppose I get to figure this out with my own son.<p>I hope that we can all show one another a little more love in this world, and that we can also stop being sold on so much fear.