School officials from Broken Arrow and Union are joining together to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl with a new campaign with the slogan "One Pill Can Kill."
It's been just over a year since the world lost Cole Brown.
"Cole was a great kid. He was 18 when he passed away, but I always say he wasn’t defined by what took him from us. He had a lot of really good things about him. He was loving, caring, he would give the shirt off his back," said his mother, Rebekah Brown.
He died after taking what he thought was a Percocet. It turned out to be laced with fentanyl.
"It was laced with enough fentanyl in it, whatever he had taken, which they’re assuming was a Percocet, that there was enough to kill three grown men in it, and he did not know," she said.
"The drug epidemic is growing in our state, especially fentanyl use," said Chuck Perry, superintendent of Broken Arrow Public Schools.
The district is teaming up with the superintendent of Union Public Schools to help raise awareness of the ongoing fentanyl plague.
"Let your children know – one pill can kill," said Union Superintendent Dr. Kirt Hartzler.
"If I knew what I know now in 2021 when he passed, he might not have passed. You know, people are starting to talk about it, and it’s more known," said Brown.
That's in large part due to the dramatic rise in calls for help. Broken Arrow police have reported a 46% increase in overdose calls from this time last year.
"We encourage you to talk with your children about the danger of drugs," said Hartzler.
"They say like nine out of every 10 illicit drugs that you’re getting on the street or on Snapchat or on Instagram and buying them that way, have fentanyl in them, that is not very good odds," said Brown.
A mother's warning to parents everywhere – learn from the simple mistake that cost Cole his life, because more often than not, fentanyl doesn't give second chances.
"I miss that kid every morning that I get up and every night that I go to bed, and every event there’s just a missing piece, you know," she said.
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is urging Oklahomans to reach out for help if you or someone you know is struggling with addiction.