SHAWNEE, Okla. (KFOR) — In Oklahoma, fentanyl deaths are increasing every year.
According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, in 2018 there were 39 deaths, last year that number jumped to over 700.
Families in Shawnee who lost their children to this deadly drug are now trying to raise awareness.
Kristy Reynolds-Oshell lost her daughter Jacee in August to fentanyl.
"It's literally one pill can kill. It can be your child out with friends and they're just experimenting and everyone, I think, wants to believe that it won't happen to them, but it's happening," said Reynolds-Oshell.
Melissa Baptise, another Shawnee parent, lost her son Jeffrey. She says he thought he was taking something else.
"He thought it was a Percocet he was taking. He didn't reach out, someone reached out to him and said, I have Percocets and it went from there and it was only one pill," said Baptise.
Baptise says you cant taste, smell or see fentanyl.
The bag on the right shows three grains of salt, which would be equivalent to enough fentanyl to kill one person. The bag on the left holds one tablespoon, which Baptise says would kill 80,000 people.
These families are working to educate others, so they don't go through what they have.
"These kids a lot of them could have been saved and if you can just save one family from feeling this, it's really worth the hard work that we're doing," said Baptise.
They've recently teamed up with Shawnee Public Schools and got approval to hand out free Narcan at all home football games.
"It's very important for kids to understand that, you know, they can have it in their car because it could very well happen to one of their friends and parents to have it in their homes because you never know," said Reynolds-Oshell.
Lewis Baughman lost his daughter Hannah in April and says more needs to be done to stop this national crisis.
"I want our leadership and our government and governmental officials and people in control to be able to stop the flow of fentanyl into this country and within this country," said Baughman.
The first home game at Shawnee High School where they'll be distributing Narcan is this Friday.
There are also vending machines across the state that distribute Narcan. You can also get it shipped to your home.
For more information, click here.
