Shark Attacks and Fentanyl

I grew up on the East coast near the Atlantic Ocean.  I was about 9 years old when I first watched the thriller movie “JAWS”. Anyone who grew up watching this movie knew that you were taking a big risk every time you would go to the beach, especially if you went into the ocean. In our young minds, we were able to believe that sharks were everywhere! We needed to do our part to stay safe. That stuck with me. To this day the theme music “duh, dah, duh, dah….” will get me every time. 

The fentanyl crisis is way beyond the risk of sharks in the ocean.  There is no Hollywood movie, theme song or enough education to get our attention to how significant and devastating this crisis is. 

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were  69 “unprovoked” shark attacks worldwide in the year 2023.  Of those attacks,10, in the entire world were fatal.  2 of those fatal attacks were here in the United States. 

 In 2023 there were over 112,000 deaths associated with fentanyl in the United States. The CDC and the DEA don’t seem to distinguish between “provoked” and “unprovoked” deaths when it comes to fentanyl. 

Are there things you can do to prevent being a victim of a shark attack? Yes, you could stay out of the ocean.  If you were to go into the ocean you could be vulnerable to a fatal shark attack.. However, be reminded of the numbers I mentioned above…there were only 2 fatal shark attack deaths in the United States last year, 2023. 

Are there things you can do to prevent being a victim of fentanyl poisoning? Yes, you could  1. Stay away from all illicit drugs. 2. Use a fentanyl test strip if you choose to play Russian roulette. 3. Have someone nearby use Naloxone/Narcan on you if you overdose. The reality is you still could be vulnerable to fatal fentanyl poisoning. As a reminder, 111,999 people AND my son, Jack, learned that in 2023. 

We are all vulnerable to a variety of things throughout our lives. We all can be susceptible, unarmed, defenseless and powerless at times.  We are all different and we may be exposed to different events, environments and interactions in our lives that can make us more vulnerable at certain times or to certain situations. . What I may be vulnerable to may be very different than what you are vulnerable to. I may have the tools to better handle some vulnerabilities better than others. You may have the tools to handle other situations, circumstances and experiences better than I can. 

Being vulnerable doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t mean you haven’t tried your hardest….it just means you (and I) are human.  

What I do know for sure is that we are all vulnerable to fentanyl. None of us are immune to the risk. It doesn’t matter weather you are rich, poor, brilliant or not. It doesn’t matter if you are cautious, preemptive or aware. It isn’t just in an ocean, It is everywhere.  It is more powerful than we as living beings can tolerate. What is horrifying is that we are not meant to tolerate it. For the most part, it is being created to destroy us.  

Fentanyl is an opioid. It is man-made.  It was created in the late 1950’s as a drug to be helpful for patients that needed something stronger than morphine. It is roughly 100 times more potent than morphine. It is used in everyday procedures like endoscopy and it is used to manage pain in cancer patients.. It is odorless, it is colorless (white) and it is easily put into EVERY drug that is not prescribed by a physician. It was not created to be this generation’s greatest health risk

Remember…I said, “created”? Yes, this is a man-made (synthetic) drug. This drug was created in a certain way. Now it continues to be altered in multiple ways by people who don’t care about you or your loved ones.  There are new analogs of fentanyl being discovered every day.    As fentanyl continues to change, so does the number of deaths related to fentanyl poisoning. This is real. This is here and this is now. This is a very, very scary reality.   

Then there are Nitazines and there is Xylazine….topics for another time. 

Stay safe whether you are on land or by sea! 

ALWAYS BE KIND and NEVER GIVE UP HOPE! 

Mindy