Fentanyl deaths in Texas will now be classified as murders after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that states that death certificates for these people will reflect that they were poisoned by the drug.
In the state of Texas there are multiple arrests that have been made linked to the sale of thousands of pills with this dangerous narcotic. More than 2,000 Texans died from fentanyl overdoses in 2022, and its impact continues to affect families across the state.
“We’re going to go after the fentanyl deaths for what they are … like murders in Texas and the death certificates will show that people were poisoned by this terrible drug,” Abbott said as he signed the measure into law.
In the Texas Valley, doctors say that fentanyl overdoses are frequent in young people. “We have seen an increase in emergencies,” said Dr. Iván Meléndez. “Also part of my responsibility is the county jails and we are seeing many more people who are incarcerated, not only for dealing it, but for using it,” added the doctor.
The message for parents is to be aware of their children since the symptoms that they can show when ingesting this drug are very clear. “If you see that your children are more withdrawn, disoriented, tend to sleep a lot, are absent, stay in their rooms, have episodes of anxiety, all these are signs that the young person may be using substances…including fentanyl.” Melendez said.
