Mother of addict sounds alarm on California fentanyl crisis: Politicians need to wake up

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Fentanyl overdose deaths spike as opioid crisis rages on

Co-founder of Mothers Against Drug Deaths Jacqui Berlinn joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the opioid crisis and her effort to help families battling the epidemic as her son battles addiction.

A California mother whose son is battling fentanyl addiction spoke out Monday on the opioid epidemic as increasing fentanyl-related deaths ravage communities across the country. 

SAN FRANCISCO'S FENTANYL CRISIS CAUSING OVERDOSES, CRIME: MOTHERS AGAINST DRUG DEATHS CO-FOUNDER

Co-founder of Mothers Against Drug Deaths Jacqui Berlinn sounded the alarm on "America's Newsroom" warning there has not been sufficient change as families nationwide are devastated by the drug. 

"I have been protesting fentanyl dealers and the fentanyl crisis since the beginning of 2021, and I have not seen any change," Berlinn told co-host Bill Hemmer. "I've been trying to get our politicians to wake up and realize what a crisis this is."

"My son is an addict on the streets in San Francisco," she continued. "He's a fentanyl addict. My fear is that he will become a statistic, so I started this battle back in 2021, and I am not seeing the improvement that the American people need to see in order to battle this epidemic."

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned last week fentanyl overdoses are taking place at an "unprecedented rate" with 29 people dead and another 58 people who overdosed in recent weeks. 

There have been at least seven mass-overdose events in various states, including Colorado, Texas, Nebraska and Florida.

"My son told me that he's seeing new faces coming into the city, buying fentanyl and bringing it out to the suburbs," said Berlinn. "He's also seeing younger people, many high school students coming in and using fentanyl, so my concern is very real that this is spreading quickly, and we need to bring awareness and education."

Packets of fentanyl mostly in powder form and methamphetamine, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection say they seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico, is on display during a news conference at the Port of Nogales, Arizona, U.S., January 31, 2019. Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION  (Reuters)

Berlinn appeared on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" last week highlighting the effect the drug has had on crime within San Francisco. 

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"[S]o many people are dying on the streets, about two a day in San Francisco from fentanyl overdoses," she told host Tucker Carlson. "The open-air drug market also increases crime. Just in the last eight days - the first eight days of April - there have been eight shootings, four [of] which have resulted in deaths."

Berlinn's group put up a billboard in San Francisco's Union Square that says, "Famous the world over for our brains, beauty and now dirt-cheap fentanyl," calling for an end to open-air drug markets.