Although deadly fentanyl overdoses have decreased recently, they remain the leading cause of death for Americans age 18 to 45.  Due to what are known as counterfeit pills, 92 percent of those deaths were accidental.  Christian parents are speaking out about the deaths of their beloved children, who were good kids, but made deadly mistakes.

Weston's Story

Anne Fundner remembers her 15-year-old son Weston as a sweet child.

"He played sports. We went to church," she told CBN News, "We went to church on Wednesday nights and Sundays. He did Hume Lake camp in the summer. It was his favorite camp. It was a Christian camp."

She said the common teenage desires to be liked by others and to fit in with people his age ended up costing him his life.

"At a certain point, he gave in to peer pressure," she said, "and someone gave him something that he took. He went to bed, and he never woke up."

He took what he thought was the prescription painkiller Percocet.  However, it was actually a counterfeit pill containing fentanyl.

"These are fake pills," she said, "They look identical. You can't tell the difference side by side."

William's Story

David Magee tells a similar story about his son William, an honors student and track star.

"Oh, he was the best," David told CBN News. "You know, he was in youth group every week at church."

David said his son William took a pill that he believed was the anti-anxiety medication Xanax. However, in reality, it was a counterfeit pill that contained fentanyl, which killed him.  

David explained that it only takes a tiny amount of fentanyl to take a human life, the same amount as a couple of grains of sand.

The director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Nora Volkow, told CBN News most people who die from counterfeit pills did not intend kill themselves.

"We are seeing so many people dying from overdoses without even knowing they were consuming fentanyl," she said.

No Room For Experimentation

Counterfeit pills disguised as prescription medication are widespread. Last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 47 million pills and 10,000 pounds of powdered fentanyl, enough for more than 370 million lethal doses.  

In his book, Things Have Changed, David recommends parents warn their kids at an early age about the dangers of counterfeit pills, preferably before the children become teenagers.  In past generations, many teens and young adults experimented with pills.  Today, however, there is no room for experimentation, because just one pill can kill.

"You have to help them understand that if you take a pill, it needs to come from your doctor and your pharmacy," David said.

Anne goes as far as recommending parents rehearse with their child what he or she will say if they are offered a pill, so they're prepared.  She explained that sometimes when kids are caught off guard, they're more likely to give in to the temptation to take one.

"Say, 'Not my thing,' or, 'My mom's picking me up in a little bit,' or, 'I have to do something with my parents,'" Fundner suggested parents advise their kids. "Whatever the excuses that you come up with, if you have run those scenarios in advance, they will have the tools and the power to say, 'No,' and not feel cornered."

What Parents Should Know

Drug dealers often approach potential customers on social media. The dealers seem young and hip, using slang words and emojis that parents often don't understand.

For example, emojis such as a chocolate bar or a bus mean Xanax, the letter "A" next to a train stands for Adderall, and a banana or blue dot is code for the painkillers Oxycodone and Percocet.

Kelly Newcom, founder of Brave Parenting, an organization dedicated to training children to have strong character and integrity, told CBN News that parents need to monitor what their children are exposed to, especially on their phones.

"There are so many lies from the enemy, Satan, who wants to take away our kids, and take them captive," she said. "And we do have a very hard and important role as parents right now."

Brave Parenting recommends monitoring a child's social media use, even though it can be difficult.

"Especially on apps like Snapchat, when these conversations automatically disappear, there's no record," Newcom said.

Brave Parenting recommends giving children certain phones like Bark, which can block apps and alert parent to concerning texts or emails in real time.

So while parents like Anne Fundner and David Magee can testify that a good kid can make just one mistake and lose their life to a counterfeit pill, they, and thousands of others, are working to prevent it from happening to another parent.