Talking to Your Children About Fentanyl

Maribeth continues her conversation with Los Angeles Times writer Paul Thornton and brings Ed Ternan into their conversation about educating children on the danger of fentanyl. Following the death of Melanie Ramos, Paul and his wife had the drugs and alcohol talk with their children much earlier than they had anticipated. Maribeth advised putting this talk into the context of consent - the idea that you have control over what you put into your body. Both Paul and Maribeth knew this was part of a larger conversation they wanted to start with parents about this new threat to children and why children are turning to substances in such large numbers. 
Ed Ternan lost his youngest son Charlie in May of 2022. Charlie died shortly after taking what he thought was a Percocet he'd purchased online that turned out to be a "fentapill." At that time, this was not in the public consciousness. Charlie was a savvy college senior but did not know the danger of buying a pill online. Following Charlie's death, Ed and his wife founded Song for Charlie to raise awareness about fentapills. Ed shares Charlie's story and what he has learned during his two-year deep dive into understanding the new drug trade. "We need to rethink how we describe the drug landscape and reimagine the drug talk we have with our children around the kitchen table," Ed explains, "we need to move away from the scare tactics."
In this episode, the three talk about having age-appropriate conversations with children to build trust and help them navigate a world that often feels overwhelming.