District Attorney Ron Freitas today announced the start of a months long “One Pill Can Kill” Fentanyl awareness campaign in San Joaquin County. The campaign will air across Digital and Social Media Channels, Billboards, Radio and Broadcast and Cable TV.

“You’re going to see our messaging pop up all across the county, in a variety of channels, from Billboards, to Social Media to your TV Screens,” Freitas unveiling the campaign. “Far too many people are finding availability to purchase pills that are laced with fentanyl.”

Data from San Joaquin County shows that 48 people died from fentanyl overdoses in 2021. The fentanyl overdose death rate in 2021 was 20 times higher than in 2018. Over half the victims were between 14-35 years old. The trend of fentanyl deaths among young people are a result of the substance being found in false prescription painkillers bought off the street. Because of fentanyl’s highly addictive nature, it’s become popular among illegal drug manufacturers.

“The trend now is to lace black-market prescription drugs with fentanyl with a buyer unknowingly ingesting this deadly substance,” said Freitas. “One of every four pills contained a deadly amount, so a kilo of fentanyl has the capability of killing 100,000+ people.”

To learn more, you can visit: https://sjgov.org/da/onepill

Media Inquiries, contact Lee Neves at Lee@CrossCurrentsLLC.com.