DEA warns parents about fentanyl dangers amid spring break season
(COLORADO) — With the warmer weather and vacation season well underway, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Field Division (DEA RMFD) is once again reminding parents to speak with their kids about the real threats of fentanyl.
Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen of the DEA RMFD spoke with FOX21 News about the hard conversations parents need to have with their kids about the dangers of drug abuse.
'The scary thing now is that the biggest threat in our community is not someone shooting a needle of heroin in their arm, it's that they're taking a pill,' Pullen said, 'and we teach our kids to take pills, so parents have to have this really hard conversation with their kids about being aware.'
Pullen said spring break brings an extra layer of concern.
'High school kids and college kids like to go on vacation for spring break; maybe they go to Mexico, maybe they go to Florida; kids take risks when they go and they are away from their parents,' he said.
DEA's Rocky Mountain Field Division on drug overdose deaths in the state
Pullen added that fentanyl does not take a vacation.
'It's still going to be deadly, it's still going to be out there, and parents need to have this conversation with their high schoolers and with their college kids to not ingest any substance that they don't know what it is,' he said. 'Never take a pill that you think is medicine if it didn't come from your doctor or pharmacist.'
Pullen said parents need to understand that the threat is real and it's out there, and that these criminal groups are targeting young people.
'The cartels have intelligence networks just like government agencies do, right? So, they watch the news, they pay attention to the trends, and they move drugs around the countries, to places where they know it's going to sell,' he said. 'They are a multi-billion-dollar a year business; all they care about is greed; they don't care about if people live or die, they just care about the money they are going to make.'
This weekend, an hour-long Nexstar special titled 'The Next Generation: Breaking Fentanyl's Grip' will air on FOX21 and SOCO CW. The special will focus on five families impacted by fentanyl; you can watch it on Sunday, March 30, at 5 p.m. on FOX21 and then at 9 p.m. on SOCO CW.
The DEA also has several resources for families, including drug education information for parents, educators, and caregivers to help 'identify drug use, drug paraphernalia, warning signs of drug use, and the harmful side effects of the most commonly used drugs.'
For more information, search dea.gov/togetherforfamilies.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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