TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Today in downtown Tucson, a group of Tucsonans spent their morning trying to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, because they know all too well the consequences it can have.
More than 107,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2023, and about 70 percent of those deaths are attributed to opioids, like fentanyl, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
As cars drove and people walked down Congress Street, Theresa Guerrero tried to share a message with them: fentanyl kills.
It’s a message Guerrero has been spreading for nearly five years, because she lost her own son, Jacob Guerrero, to fentanyl in 2020, when he was 31 years old.
“Our kids are gone, but hopefully we can save somebody else’s children,” Guerrero said.
She and several others, with similar stories, stood outside the superior court building, handing out Narcan and sharing resources.
While doing that, they also remembered lives lost through a prayer and reading of their names.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered to be a lethal dose and because of its potency and low cost, drug dealers have been mixing it with other drugs, according to the DEA.
“So somebody could be thinking they’re just trying something for the first time and that’s the last breath they take,” said Kira Moore-Rendon, who lost her son, Jacob Rendon, to fentanyl in 2021.
Guerrero said fentanyl does not discriminate.
“It doesn’t care who you are. It doesn’t care about your age, ethnicity, your education – none of that.”
Carter Petit was only 19 years old when she died from fentanyl. She’s the reason her mom, Dawn Petit, drove from the Phoenix area to be part of Saturday’s event.
“Oh my gosh, I can talk about my daughter all day long,” Petit said. “She was a beautiful person…and she always had a smile on her face, she was always an outgoing person, and she loved to model.”
Petit said she has now turned her pain into purpose.
“To be able to help another family not have to go through what our family went through after my daughter passed away,” she explained.
It’s the goal of all the families at the rally.
“If we save one life, it’s all worth it to us,” Guerrero said.
“I don’t want anybody else to go through this,” Moore-Rendon said. “I see the heartbreak in my own children….and it supersedes my own….I just don’t want anybody else to go through this.”
What to do if someone has overdosed:
(According to the CDC)
- Administer naloxone or another opioid overdose reversal medication, if available.
- Call 911 immediately.
- Try to keep the person awake and breathing.
- Lay the person on their side to prevent choking.
- Stay with the person until emergency workers arrive.
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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
