Kenner, La. Oh A new study shows that children are dying faster than any other age group from fentanyl poisoning.
Most of these deaths are children of drug users accidentally exposing their children.
That’s what happened on New Year’s Eve in Kenner, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. One-year-old Leo Calero was found dead with fentanyl in his system. His family tells us his mother, Alexis Calero, was a heroin user and the state was actively investigating his custody, but it was too late.
“It’s really just a numb feeling,” said Lex Staub, Leo’s grandmother. “It still feels surreal. We’re just trying to get justice for Leo. This should never happen.”
Leo Calero, 1, was found dead on New Year’s Eve with fentanyl in his system.
(Courtesy of Lexis Staub)
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Capt. Michael Cunningham with the Kenner Police Department says that last year, nearly 100 percent of the drugs his department took off the street tested positive for fentanyl.
“It’s coming from across the border where they can make millions of pills from a small amount of fentanyl, and we have street dealers who are making their own pills,” Cunningham said.
Alexis Caliro faces manslaughter charges for Leo’s death and the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is investigating her wrongdoing.
The toddler’s mother, Alexis Calero, faces charges of second-degree murder in his death.
(Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office)
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Across the country, charities are still dealing with staff shortages since the pandemic, and some children are falling through the cracks.
Meanwhile, Liu’s death is now part of a troubling increase in pediatric fentanyl poisonings.
According to the non-profit Families Against Fentanyl (FAF)Between 2019 and 2021, fentanyl-related deaths among children ages 1-4 increased threefold, and deaths among children ages 5-14 nearly quadrupled.
“It’s become so common that it’s killing babies and children just by casual contact,” said FAF founder Jim Roh.
Fentanyl tablets
(US Attorney’s Office)
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Rao founded Families Against Fentanyl after her son died from the drug in 2015. Since then, he has been working with political leaders and other advocates to address the fentanyl crisis.
“I want the White House to designate fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction by executive order.” “That will bring out the whole government perspective on this.”
Rau says the drug problems America is currently facing are “just the beginning” if more action is not taken.
“We fear it could be used for mass casualty incidents,” Rah said. “It’s infiltrating schools. It’s infiltrating prisons. That means there’s no safe environment. With minor solvents, it’s instantly transmissible. God knows if it gets into food, water or What can happen if it gets into the air supply.”
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