A former R.L. Turner High School student said trying to fit in led to her using drugs.
"I would have a lot of friends that would do a lot of drugs and I just started trying them," said the student who did not want to be identified.
She's now home-schooled. Her parents pulled her out of school and put her into a rehab center after she had a bad reaction to a blue pill believed to have fentanyl in it.
"It feels like you're going to die,” the student said.
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"It's horrifying to hear that children are now using fentanyl," Nexus Recovery Center Chief Clinical Officer Stacey Burns said.
The drug and alcohol treatment facility for women has seen an increase in fentanyl cases.
Burns said what's needed most is communication and education for young people.
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"Education around what is really out there,” Burns said. “What people need to be aware of in terms of the drugs that are being cut with fentanyl and the risk of overdose."
Those risks playing out in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. Three young people are dead and six others have been hospitalized in a string of fentanyl overdoses, most of them since December.
Burns advised parents should be very observant of their children.
"You need to be aware of where your children, teenagers are,” Burns said. “Who their friends are. Obviously, any changes in mood or interest in school or interest or lack thereof in sports or things they've always been involved in."
As for one student who had her own close call she gives this warning.
"It's better to stay off drugs and to find better people to be around with," the student said.
To learn more about Nexus Recovery Center click here.
