ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Mom Kelly Bostic isn't the only one mourning her son Tyler - for the last year and a half, she's had to watch as her grand-daughter, his 4 year-old niece, mourn him too.
"She takes this picture and she sits it right next to her on the couch, and she writes him notes," Bostic said as she showed us the 4 year-old's favorite photo of her uncle.
Tyler suffered from anxiety and depression. He started buying Xanax off a co-worker who had a prescription. When that co-worker left, Tyler got desperate, and turned to a stranger.
"He made a bad choice, and he got a pill that he thought was Xanax and it was not," Bostic said.
That choice cost him his life. When Bostic was told her healthy, 29 year-old son suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, she knew there had to be more to the story. She asked the medical examiner to test his urine and sure enough, toxicology results showed two drugs in his system: drugs she had never even heard of, but has since learned a lot about: Isotonitazene, and Bromazolam.
"And the one, Isotonitazene, is 20 times more potent than fentanyl," Bostic said.
The DEA Washington divisionstarted warning the public about Isotonitazene last year, saying it had hit the tri-state area. The agency says the drug was never approved for medical use and that it's being sourced from China, then mixed into other drugs - not just illegal street drugs like heroin, but legal pharmaceutical medications too.
And a DEA report from August says Bromazolam - a designer benzo - is popping up in toxicology reports.
The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education found that it's often paired with an opioid - like fentanyl - to create a combination commonly referred to as "benzo-dope."
"And in my opinion, I do think it's homicide. I think it's murder. When you know you're intentionally selling a fatal poison to someone, and they think it's something safe, you're intentionally harming that person," Bostic said.
She wants the Maryland government to recognize that too. She started a petition calling for the state senate to adopt what's called a drug-induced homicide law.
"That law will hold drug dealers accountable for the lives that they take. It will deter further drug dealing activity, and it will save lives," she said.
Many states already have that law on the books. On this map, it's the states in blue, as of 2019.
Critics of such laws say they make people more afraid to call 911 if someone is overdosing, and that they end up targeting fellow users, rather than major traffickers.
Kelly's petition already has close to 1,600 signatures. She plans to bring it to the senate in the next legislative session.
"I can't bring my son back, but I can help save other parents from having to go through this."