BELLE CHASSE, La. — The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office went to Belle Chasse High School Thursday to speak with students about the dangers of drug use after a senior died days before graduation.
Hailey Deickman, 18, was a straight-A student getting ready to walk across the stage. Sadly, she'll never take those steps. The sheriff believes she took half a street pill sold as prescription Percocet, but it was likely a counterfeit pill containing Fentanyl.
"I don’t even know what to say to those parents. Me and my wife have been there," said Dan Schneider, also known as "The Pharmacist" from the Netflix docuseries.
His son was killed due to the Opioid epidemic and ever since, he's made it his mission to raise awareness about the crisis. Most recently, he said he's been working with St. Tammany and St. Bernard schools to share a warning about the danger of Fentanyl in street drugs. He hopes to spread it statewide.
"This illicit Fentanyl is in almost anything not from a pharmacy and is killing students," Schneider said. "Sadly, we lost one locally."
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, one in four counterfeit pills made with Fentanyl contains a lethal dose. Only 2 milligrams can kill you.
"We're talking about kids that don’t have substance use disorder, they're naïve, they experiment, and this experiment becomes deadly for them," Schneider said.
"You're basically playing Russian roulette with your life," said Special Agent Debbie Webber, DEA.
She explains that kids are buying pills not realizing they contain Fentanyl.
"They are being sold as an Oxycodone, or Percocet, or Xanax and these kids get them on social media or on the street and think it safe," Webber said.
The crisis has become so dire, last month the DEA announced a new initiative called 'Project Wave Breaker' aiming to stop the flood of Fentanyl coming into the country across the southwest border.
"What the Mexican drug cartels are doing is they are mass producing these fake Opioids or prescriptions," she said. "Our kids are dying from them because one pill can kill. That's all it takes. You don't know what you're getting."
Parents are urged to talk to their kids now because these drugs are taking young lives like Deickman's too often.
Deickman will donate her organs to save other lives.
The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office will look into a possible murder charge if they find the dealer who sold the deadly pills.
Schneider is sharing this message with schools and parents:
"Parents and students,
Please be alert and aware that there are fake prescription pills, such as Xanax, Percocet, and Adderall on the street and available thru social media. These fake pills contain deadly amounts of the very potent Opioid called Fentanyl. One pill can kill. This Fentanyl also can lace Ecstasy, MJ(POT), METHAMPHETAMINE, almost any drug. Never take anything unless its prescribed by a doctor and gotten from a pharmacy. In the past experimenting with these things was wrong, but not usually deadly. Now, this illicit Fentanyl is in almost anything, not from a pharmacy and is killing students.
Stay away from drugs and alcohol. Your brains are still developing and even if they are not immediately deadly, they can Damage Your Brain.
Also watch out for friends who might be experimenting. Care, don’t Cover. Report any using or dealing, anonymously if necessary, to parents or teachers.
If you haven’t already, watch “The Pharmacist” on Netflix.
-THE PHARMACIST