HOWARD COUNTY — A mother who lost her son to a drug overdose held a fundraiser to raise awareness, highlighting the dangers of fentanyl.
Debbie Santini lost her son Jesse Byrd last February due to an overdose on fentanyl while he was at a recovery house in Annapolis.
Now she says she has a mission to advocate for change in recovery housing, raise public awareness, and talk about the dangers of illicit drugs while supporting those in recovery.
"Hopefully, save another family from going through the devastation of losing a child," said Santini. "No family is immune to this."
Carin Miller is a member of the Maryland Heroin Awareness Advocates. She says fentanyl is being replaced with Narcan-resistant drugs.
"Fentanyl is now being replaced by zylozine. It's a large animal tranquilizer, and they are selling it on the streets as fentanyl,and it's killing people because it is Narcan-resistant," said Miller.
To learn more about the organizations supporting this fundraiser, click here.
