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Fighting Fentanyl: Colorado Attorney General And Parents Show Support For Legislative Push

DENVER (CBS4) - Parents have joined Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and police to help state lawmakers take action against the increasing threat posed by fentanyl. While deaths related to the drug are often categorized as overdoses, a single pill can kill.

Tami Gottsegen shared her story during a news conference led by Weiser on Thursday morning. Her son Braden died after he bought what he thought was a pain pill from an acquaintance. It was laced with fentanyl. She says calling it an overdose is misleading.

"A death caused by fentanyl in most cases is poisoning. Most of these people didn't know they were ingesting fentanyl. They thought they were taking a Xanax or a percocet or an oxy. It's in cocaine, heroin, meth and now even marijuana," Gottsegen said. "Think about it this way, for instance if you go to a restaurant and order a Sprite and it contains cyanide, you were poisoned and you died, you didn't ask for that cyanide."

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The acquaintance who sold Braden that pill is serving time, but his mother says many fentanyl cases aren't being prosecuted.

It's estimated that fentanyl will kill 1,800 people this year.

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