NEVADA VIEWS: The face of drug overdoses

Our beautiful and sweet daughter, Victoria, died from a drug overdose at the age of 18. Although her death was determined to be accidental, the events that led up to her overdose had been set in motion for years.

Tragically, our family did not heed the signs that were flashing red. During her adolescence, we applied off-the-shelf solutions that were ineffective that exacerbated her mental health struggles and urge to self-medicate. We have devoted the rest of our lives to helping other families avoid our mistakes and learn along with us even more information about the risks of drug abuse.

Since Victoria’s passing nine years ago, three areas in particular are changing the trajectory of overdoses and deserve our collective attention. The first is fentanyl poisoning. In 2023, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were implicated in about 75 percent of the 112,000 overdose deaths in the United States that year. The Southern Nevada Health District reported that the number of overdose deaths in Clark County involving the combination of fentanyl plus methamphetamine or cocaine rose 97 percent.

Fentanyl can be 50 times stronger than heroin; just 10 to 15 grains is considered a lethal dose. Fentanyl has been identified in fake pills, mimicking pharmaceuticals such as oxycodone or drugs used to treat ADHD taken by unsuspecting users. Drug dealers also combine fentanyl with other drugs to increase the user’s high and encourage addiction. It is the rise of this “poisoning” that is contributing to the escalating number of unintentional overdoses across the country. Street drugs are often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms that are ripe for targeting teens and young adults, circumventing parental awareness.

The hardest part for families when their children are acting out is differentiating between generic teen angst and the possibility of mental health problems. Adolescence brings a host of changes, exacerbated by the impact of social media that magnifies everything. Victoria went from being a vibrant, outgoing child to a teenager who suffered from intense insecurity. Where we saw a bright, beautiful girl, she saw a failure. Where we saw a creative, free spirit, she was secretly skipping school and developed an eating disorder.

We interpreted her moodiness as being a “typical teenager” and were ignorant that our daughter was calling out for help. It was only when her grades suffered that we sent her to a psychiatrist. Rather than addressing her with gentleness and understanding, that doctor prescribed Xanax and sent her on her way. These medications accelerated Victoria’s spiral.

As parents, we all try to balance our kids’ right to privacy while also being protective. And sometimes moodiness is just that. But we failed Victoria by not being sufficiently inquisitive about her true feelings. After her death, we would later learn that she was bullied throughout middle school because of her weight. The ongoing conflict with her peers was overwhelming to her. Victoria kept a diary that we read after she died — she described a profound sense of depression.

The final lesson is the sad silver lining to the overdose epidemic. In 2023, the FDA approved over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray that reverses the effect of an opioid overdose within minutes. Safe and easy to use, naloxone works quickly and has few side effects. Victoria still had a pulse when the first responders arrived, but in 2015 they were not carrying naloxone and could not save her in time.

Overdoses can happen to anyone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,340 overdose deaths in Nevada in the 12-month period ending in October 2023, a 23 percent increase compared to the prior year. Whether it’s the ADHD pill laced with fetanyl taken before a college exam, or a fake Percocet taken at a party, tragedy is never far away. In that moment, naloxone plays a vital role in saving victims from an unintentional overdose. Having naloxone widely available is an effortless way to save lives.

The Nevada State Opioid Response provides information on harm reduction, including public access to naloxone, and has dispensed more than 63,000 kits. Clark County has four vending machines with naloxone, as the reversal drug increasingly gets mainstream adoption and availability. This must continue.

Victoria’s premature death shook our family to its core. If our after-the-fact wisdom is able to save even one life, her death will not have been in vain.

David Siegel is founder, executive chairman and president of Westgate Resorts. David and Jacqueline Siegel established Victoria’s Voice Foundation (www.victoriasvoice.foundation) as a national platform for drug awareness, abuse prevention and saving lives.