Share Your Story

There is power and healing in sharing our stories, to honor those we’ve lost and to help others understand the true dangers of this drug. Here we share some personal stories being used around the country. And if you would like to add your experience, photos, or memories, please click here.

I really miss him

Valentina, a local teenager who goes to high school in Southern Nevada, lost her Uncle Angelo to fentanyl poisoning in 2021. She shares the story of her loss and how much she misses his presence in her life.

Meet Myles

"Laced drugs are just everywhere... It could have been him, or me, or anyone else at that party."

Hannah's story

Hannah was a 17-year-old Arizona student. She died from a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl.

Overdose Awareness Day

Aug. 31 is Overdose Awareness Day — a reminder of my brother, his years in recovery and his tragic death from overdose.

My brother, Angelo, was a great inspiration to me and countless others in the recovery community. The treatment programs he helped put together changed many lives over the course of the eight years he was sober. Addiction, however, is a chronic disease that eventually took his life. His overdose is a devastating reminder of the fragility of both sobriety and life in general.

Click the photo to read the entire story.

I Lost my twin

I lost my identical twin sister in March of 2022. She was a medical professional, she was amazing at her job but this drug took her from us. The potency of this drug is killing kids and adults and ripping families apart. It's so unreal being born with her and now having to keep living without her. The pain and grief that comes with losing her is unbearable, I miss her so much every day.

It’s not just the young who fall victim.

My dear friend of 30 years—a spirited soul who thrived as a CFO, cherished the arts, and lit up every room she entered—was stolen from us by a fentanyl overdose. She had just gone on a first date with someone she met through a dating app. My friend, who wasn’t a drug user, had shared with me only days before how she stood her ground when someone asked to smoke marijuana in her home. She was resolute about her values, yet somehow, she was found unresponsive, lying in bed as if she'd simply drifted off for a nap. A cruel illusion. Her date was discovered lifeless just half a block away. What truly happened that night? We may never have answers. The tragedy is compounded by the harsh reality of California’s overwhelmed system—unable to investigate how she ended up ingesting fentanyl. This epidemic not only robbed her of her future but left her two adult children, both in their early 20s, scrambling to find a new place to call home. The heartbreak deepened when her life insurance was denied due to the “cause of death.” There was no safety net for them, only the echoing absence of their mother. She became another statistic in this relentless fentanyl crisis—another light extinguished, another family devastated.

-Gina Waters

I lost my 20 year old son to a pill laced with fentanyl in 2022.

I was performing cpr on him when the paramedics showed up at my house. I am available to help with any event or in any other capacity that I can.

-Bryan Lamm

Our son, Zachery Bret Levi, was found dead and dumped on the side of the road.

Below is a portion of an email that was sent to Rachel Plakon, FL House of Representatives and Congressman, Jason Brodeur: Our son, Zachery Bret Levi, was found dead and dumped on the side of the road on 5/26/2024. The cause of death determined by the District One Medical Examiner's Office was a mix of drugs (Fentanyl, Para-Fluorofentanyl, 4-ANPP, Amphetamine and methamphetamine) intoxication. The last known address our son was known to be at is 29 Sandalwood Dr or possibly 617 1/2 B, Citrus St., Pensacola, FL 32505 and was the addresses that Michael Harrelson (one of the possible "Frankenstein Drug Dealers") was staying at during this time. Of course, we have heard several different stories and this information is not facts, but all point to Michael Harrelson as being the “possible drug dealer”. Additional information about this drug dealer, on June 30, 2024 Michael Harrelson was pulled over for speeding in Madison County, FL and arrested for trafficking in Fentanyl, possession of cocaine, tampering with evidence and drug paraphernalia. The arrest report also shows Mr. Harrelson stated he was going to visit his wife at the Lowell Women's Work Camp in Ocala, FL. It seems strange that he would be carrying that quantity of drugs going to a prison for visitation or was his intent for something else? Then on February 5, 2025 while waiting for trial in Madison County, Michael Harrelson was served with a search warrant at the 29 Sandalwood Dr. address in Pensacola. At the time the warrant was served at this address Michael Harrelson was charged with trafficking Fentanyl. The State Attorney's office in Escambia County has offered a Sentence Recommendation of: Adjudication of Guilt; 25 years State Prison with ____Credit time served (25 years as minimum mandatory); $518 Court Cost; $100 FDLE Fee; 1 Year Driver license Revocation; $150 Public Defender Fee. Since it is also mandatory, he will have to pay a fine of $500,000 and the driver’s license revocation is also the max allowed. As of this date he has not accepted this recommendation. We understand that he is getting what he deserves for the drug charges from 2/05/2025, but no one seems to have a vested interest in the murder that has also taken the life of our son and who knows how many others. Zachery's case is still active, but no one that witnessed the events that led to my son's death and being dumped on the side of the road, has come forward. We have also been informed that the current judge presiding over the case in Madison County is lenient and my guess he will just run a prison sentence concurrent with the state prison sentence in Escambia County (if Harrelson accepts the sentence recommendation or if he is found guilty by jury trial and sentenced) and so he will only be held accountable for 1 set of charges if this transpires in Madison County. It seems all of your hard work to get this bill passed, seems to have all gone by the wayside. We keep hearing on the news how law enforcement is getting the drugs off the streets, but the drug dealers don’t seem to be getting the punishment they deserve. Yes, it's great that this drug dealer was finally taken off the streets, but how many died between his arrest for trafficking fentanyl in Madison County and then in Pensacola, FL? One of the people during his arrest on 2/05/2025 was found in his kitchen having overdose-like symptoms per the arrest report and taken to the hospital. Question - could she have been another victim and possibly found on the side of the road the same as our son? I do not know what else can be done except for the court system to uphold the Bill 365 to the fullest and anyone found with enough fentanyl to be considered "trafficking", kept in jail without bond until the trial is completed and then if the inmate is found guilty... sentence them to the max the law provides for murder or attempted murder or at least the max of 30 years for each count. This can't go on and the State Attorney's Office and Judges presiding over such cases should be held accountable in seeing that the “Frankenstein Drug Dealers” are tried to the fullest extent of the law and sentenced accordingly. Law enforcement risks their lives every day to get these criminals off the streets only for them to be given reduced sentences or not prosecuted just for turning over evidence or names of other drug dealers doing the same thing and the cycle continues. We just want closure and justice for our son and anyone else that lost their life due to one of these "Frankenstein Drug Dealers".

-Cynthia Levi