One pill took her son: NJ mother helps fight for school drug education

🔴 NJ Senator Holly Schepisi pushes for a bill to teach students about fentanyl and xylazine dangers in schools.

🔴 The bill is named after Max Lenowitz, 25, who died from a fake pill laced with fentanyl on his birthday.

🔴 Despite bipartisan support, the bill has stalled in Trenton, raising concerns among advocates and grieving families.

To keep the fight against the epidemic of fentanyl poisoning alive in New Jersey, one state senator is doing everything she can to make sure her bill takes center stage and is put to a full vote soon.

Bipartisan push for drug awareness stalls in NJ legislature

“The Fentanyl and Xylazine Poisoning Awareness Act,” once known as Max’s Law, unanimously passed the Senate Education Committee in May, requiring school districts in New Jersey to provide instruction on the dangers of these potentially lethal drugs.

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Bill sponsor state Sen. Holly Schepisi, R-Bergen, said the progress on this bipartisan bill, with so many co-sponsors from both sides of the political aisle, has died. She said she has reached out several times to leadership to get this piece of legislation put up for a full vote.

Young man's death at 25 becomes a catalyst for change

“The Fentanyl and Xylazine Poisoning Awareness Act” is in memory of Woodcliff Lake resident, Max Lenowitz, who died on July 14, 2022, his 25th birthday, from a single counterfeit Xanax pill that was laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl.

On the first anniversary of his death, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a joint resolution into law, designating July 14 as Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Day.

Schepisi said that what many people are not aware of is that during the pandemic, the largest cause of deaths for young people around Lenowitz’s age was not COVID-19, but rather overdoses primarily as a result of fentanyl and xylazine.

This legislation is a tool in the fight against this kind of drug poisoning in New Jersey.

Fake pills flood NJ schools and colleges

Many students in high school and college are taking each other’s prescription pills to either self-medicate due to anxiety or to help them stay up late to study for exams, Schepisi said.

What many people are unaware of is that most of the pills found on college campuses and used by students are actually counterfeit pills.

“They are being manufactured overseas, coming up through Mexico, and along the way, have been cut with a potentially lethal dosage of fentanyl,” Schepisi said.

These pills look like prescription pills from a legitimate doctor, but they are fake, she warned.

Heartbroken mother demand action, call for education in schools

Lenowitz’s mother, Patrice, has expressed her support for the bill.

“Talking to our children openly about the dangers they will be challenged with every day and working with them towards prevention is the first step towards keeping them safe,” Lenowitz said.

Her family didn’t know much about fentanyl, nor did she know that counterfeit prescription pills were so easily acquired. One pill killed her son. She hopes this lifesaving education in classrooms will help keep children and families informed and alive.

School instruction topics under the legislation

Schepisi, who has been a consistent advocate for legislation that would raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, said this instruction would be part of a student’s health and physical education curriculum.

School instruction would include information on fentanyl and xylazine abuse and prevention, poisoning awareness, the dangers of synthetic opioids, recognition of the symptoms of fentanyl and xylazine poisoning, with instruction on what to do, and how to respond to such an emergency.

Also, the instruction would let New Jersey youth know about the laws that provide immunity and other protections for those who report drug and alcohol overdoses, and use, and who seek medical treatment for drug or alcohol poisoning or overdoses for themselves and others, Schepisi explained.

Five other states, California, Illinois, Mississippi, Oregon, and Texas, have already mandated instruction on the dangers of fentanyl and xylazine in schools.

She continues to praise Sen. Vin Gopal for co-prime-sponsoring this important bipartisan legislation. “Far too many young Americans, like Max, have had their lives cut short due to fentanyl poisoning, and now we are one step closer towards preventing future deaths from occurring,” Schepisi said.

Schepisi is also a sponsor of S-2555, which would regulate residential mental health treatment facilities and streamline the process for individuals seeking treatment. This bill is part of her longstanding effort to make addiction and mental health services accessible to all New Jerseyans.

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