A Jacksonville mother has been charged with manslaughter for the death of her two-year-old son after police reported he died of a drug overdose last March.
The child had both fentanyl and another dangerous substance in his system, which is becoming increasingly common in overdose deaths.
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That drug, Xylazine, or Tranq, as it’s referred to on the streets, can make opioids like fentanyl even more deadly.
43-year-old Melissa Harper has been charged with manslaughter following the death of her two-year-old son Kaden Wheeler.
Wheeler was taken to the emergency room by Harper after she found him unresponsive in bed.
According to the police report, Wheeler was dead by the time he got to the ER and toxicology reports found a combination of fentanyl, Xylazine and Narcan, the overdose-reversal drug, in his system.
It’s not clear how Wheeler ingested the deadly cocktail of drugs.
While Harper has no prior arrests related to drugs in Duval County, the police report states she tested positive for fentanyl twice after her son’s death.
The other drug found in Wheeler’s system, Xylazine, has also become a growing concern within the illicit drug market.
“I believe it’s in 49 or 50 states, if not all 50 states,” said Mike McCormick with the Florida Poison Information Center at UF Health Jacksonville.
McCormick noted Xylazine is also a growing problem here in Florida, and said it isn’t affected by opioid reversal drugs like Narcan.
“Much like an opioid, the real issue here is it depresses your breathing inside your body,” said McCormick.
Now, Xylazine has found itself in the crosshairs of state lawmakers.
A bill filed for the upcoming 2025 session would create mandatory minimum sentences ranging from seven to 25 years in prison for trafficking the illicit substance in Florida.
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McCormack said he’s not surprised the deadly drug is getting more attention given its boom in popularity over the past three to four years.
“It is going to be the focus of lawmakers, law enforcement, poison control centers, hospitals as we continue to deal and kind of play whack a mole with the illicit drug supply,” said McCormick.
McCormick stressed to always call 911 as soon as possible in any overdose situation.
He also encouraged people to administer Narcan to overdose victims if they have access to the life-saving overdose reversal drug.
“We still want you to use the Narcan because we need to reverse the opioid part of that overdose, but then we need to start working on the respiratory depression that happens from the Xylazine separately,” said McCormick.
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