Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / One Leg Up on Fentanyl Crisis Awareness with Mike Fiore for 8-21-24

Transcript

One Leg Up on Fentanyl Crisis Awareness with Mike Fiore for 8-21-24 · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, it's Alex Scarrett podcasting And as I mentioned yesterday
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: and last week, things always find my desk, and today
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: is National Vental Awareness Day, and someone who's been involved
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: with that for a very long time is on my
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: line right now from Times Square, Mike Fiora and Mike
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: you are the communications director for Awareness of Addiction and
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Ventanyl Awareness. Tell us a little more about the organization
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: and sorry if I botched it. This is the first
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: time getting to Note media today.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: I appreciate your eagerness to you know, get this out
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: there and get the message out there and getting people
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: aware of illicted ventanyl. So my name is Michael Fury.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: I'm director of outreach as well as communications for Voices
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: for Awareness, which Facing Fentanyl is a project under Needs
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Voices for Awareness. It's a coalition of over two hundred
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: organizations throughout the United States who are all being all
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: observe in the national day and their collective cities as
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: well as we're doing it in Times Square.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Like you said, well, I'll tell you what the stats
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: are astounding and I feel like there no problem never
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: goes away. Every day thousands of people die, Am I
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: right on that.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: Every day we're losing three hundred people twenty two teams.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Of course, in the United States, every five minutes a
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: life is being lost to a Liftit fentanyl. It's the
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: leading cause of death in our country from eighteen to
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: forty five. So to think that it's an addiction problem
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: or a drug addicts problem, the statistics are showing that
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: it's everybody's problem. One pill and die, one try and die,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: one line and die. The one that the age bracket
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: that's really getting hit the hardest is the kids, because
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: what kid isn't going to experiment with drugs, right, what
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: kid isn't going to want to do with recreationally. Unfortunately,
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: like myself, I was an addict for twenty years. I
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: had the opportunity to make bad choice. They have the
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: bad choice. They have the bad choice because it wasn't fentanyl,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: it was heroin. These kids are just making one bad
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: choice and they're dying. So we're trying to get it
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: out there that it's not a drug addicts problem. There's
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: a stigma associated with it. People are using the word overdose.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: The definition of overdose means the excessive use of drugs.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: My pawn and Andrea Thomas, Executive director of voices for
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: awareness and face and federal loss her daughter to a
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: half of pill. So we are calling it a fentanyl poisoning.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: We are not calling in an overdose. I think overdose
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: gives society the wrong misconception of the problem. When I
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: hear overdose and I take a drug addict, I think
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: a heroin addict with a kneel in their arm. At
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: the same time when you say overdose. So we applying
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: this such thing as a safe dose, because if I
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: could overdo something you're telling me, then there's a safe
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: way to do it. With fentanyl being fifty to one
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: hundred times more polent and morphine, you get addicted to
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: it right away. So if you happen to survive, you're addicted.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: And now once you're addicted, we know the lifestyle of
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: someone who's addicted and where it takes them in. You
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: know jail's institutions in depth.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: It's my understanding, Michael, that this is a problem because
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: of the open borders or of a separate issue. Are
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: they all connected?
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: I think I don't think you could put the one.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: I don't think you could put the problem on one issue.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: Our organization doesn't like to point fingers we try to
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: make everybody come together one voice, whether it be legislation,
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: whether it be law enforcement or you know, nonprofits like ourselves.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: I you know, if we're gonna get to the head
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: of the snake, the head of snake is China. China
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: is producing these precurses that people are purchasing over the
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: dark web. They're receiving these precurses and they're pressing pills
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: with them. China. You know, we were at you know,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: the Capitol Building not too long ago, and they had
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: an investigation done and China actually it's illegal to sell
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: these precursors in their country, but yet they've give incentives
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: to these companies to sell those precurses outside of their country.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: China had zero fentanyl related debts last year, zero, but
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: yet they produced a product in China. So if we're
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: gonna go to ahead of the stink right now, it's
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: the precurses. Because heroin, if anyone knows, you need an
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: opium for home to make heroin. When it comes to
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: fentanyl or xylazine or niazine or these other drugs are
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: the synthetic opioids. You can make it in your house.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: So our government is it's very difficult to be able
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: to stop what's going on. So that's why organizations like
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Facing Fentanyl and Voices for Awareness and why we're in
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Times Square just to let the public know the real facts,
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: because the best way to save a life is to
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: get the information out there to educate and act, and
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: then we'll be able to prevent lives from being lost.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Every five minutes, Mike, I know you're setting up in
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Times Square and I appreciate your time on the Alex
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: Spair podcast. Now we're two more questions though. You mentioned DC,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: you mentioned Congress. You know politicians are all over the
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: opioid crisis. Why aren't they all over the fentandel crisis?
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: You know what, that's a good question. And during COVID,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: we knew within three days hand sanitizer mask six feet
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: away from each other. Why because the media was all
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: over it. We are also curious, kent or why I
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: could walk up to someone right now in New York
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: City and ask them about illicted ventanyl and they think
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: I'm talking about the fentanyl that's in the hospitals, the
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: same fentanyl. The cartel are changing the medical compound, the
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: analogs to create something so highly potent and addictive. Are
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: they trying to kill? No? Do they care? No? Look
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: at Amazon. Amazon takes millions of dollars of losses a year.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: They don't go bankrupt because their profit margin is so
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: high for the for your listeners that don't know it
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: causes the cartel less than a penny to make these pills.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: In Montana, they're selling for almost fifty dollars a pill.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: And I know we're not trying to get political here,
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: but it's interesting today coincides with the DNC, and I
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: just feel like you're gonna do more today than what
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: we're gonna hear in Chicago tonight about this.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, one hundred percent. Last year we were out here,
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: so our National Day. We're in the third year. Last
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: year we were out here our message when we got
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: it back from all you know, the media team that
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: was covering, we reached over thirty million people between TV
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: and radio. Today, we have fifteen different news outlets, all
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: the major outlets will be there in Times Square for
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: our press conference. We have billboards running behind us in
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: Times Square.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: What time is that twelve two?
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: You were telling them twelve to two, Yeah, And we
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: have a billboard running behind us with all the faces
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: of all the people that have been poisoned by fentanyl
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: running behind us. We have a tractor trailer that's out
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: in Times Square. You know, we got to shut down
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: on bactor trailer. It's wrapped with beentanol awareness facts. We
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: are blessed to have a partnership with the America's Truckers Union.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: The America's Truckers Union is now wrapping their tractors with
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: beentanal awareness information. So if people aren't getting the information
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: boards to them through media, if they're driving on the road,
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: they're going to see a truck with it. Which where
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: we try to be as innovative as we can with
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: getting the message and you know, staying where we could
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: reach the whole audience. So we're not blaming anybody for this.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: This is everybody's problem. My life being lost every five
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: minutes is a humanitarian problem. It's a national security risk.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: At this point, I don't understand why people are Our
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: government really ain't doing it. There's a lot of people
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: in government trying to make moves, but we know our
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: government right there's two men hands in the pot, and
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: it's just it. It makes things slow down. So I
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: think it's up to us United States citizens right united
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: And you know.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: What's interesting on the faces they have a museum down
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: in DC for law those lost from federald by the
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: theoristration doing anything I feel like. But anyway, have you
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: been to the museum at all?
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: Yes, I believe it or not. The DEA headquarters that
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: wall is actually the Faith in Fentol. It's actually they bought.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Our organization is on that wall, I think with another organization.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: But yeah, facing Fentol right now is the leader when
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: it comes to UH getting information now all our organizations,
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: school presentations, working with our law enforcement, making partnerships with
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: federal agencies, working with local politicians, working on bills, speaking
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: on bills, speaking against bills. Uh, it's the Unfortunately, it's
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: the bereef parents that really got this message going out
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: there and catching people's attention. Isn't for the families that
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: have lost their children fighting even though their children aren't
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: here fighting so this doesn't happen to someone else's child.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: I don't even know if we would even be where
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: we're at today with it without them.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: I mentioned battling drugs and violence before the lead law
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: enforcement and drugs and violence. I'm gonna conect you guys
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: up because you guys have the same mission. I'd love
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: to make a collaboration here.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, I would. Yeah, if you want to set
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: something up, one percent, all for it. If you have
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: any other questions for me, because I'm getting cold from
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: everybody right now, I get being the most set.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: We'll do a longer conversation. And I'm so honored that
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: you flew all the way from LA to New York
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: for this today.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I'm a native Brooklyn kid, So I'm
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: coming back to my city that I put on fire
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: for twenty years during my active addiction, and I'm coming
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: back to show them that the recovery as possible and
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: that let's not give up on someone just because they're
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: addicted to drugs.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: All Right, Mike, thanks so much, and we'll talk to
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: you soon.
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: All right. Thank you, Thank you, Ken, thank you for
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: your time.