Health U: A voice for my son - Mother speaks out about losing son to fentanyl

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) -Fentanyl trafficking has become a growing problem in South Carolina and overdose deaths continue to increase

The epidemic is claiming lives right here in the Midlands.

Dr. Jared Stone, an ER physician at Lexington Medical Center, said he’s been shocked by how many people die each month from overdoses in Lexington County alone. The vast majority seemed to be attributed to fentanyl.

In fact, one study showed one out of 20 people that come to the emergency department after an opioid overdose are dead within a year.

One of those lives was Justin Smoak, who died from an overdose linked to fentanyl poisoning.

Smoak’s mother, Janet, shared more about her son’s struggle with addiction and pleaded for parents to their kids before it’s too late.

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