MUKILTEO, Wash. — Counterfeit drugs with fentanyl are often made with a tool called a pill press. Now a law is in effect banning pill presses in the state of Washington.
It comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Washington recently saw the single highest spike in reported drug overdose deaths of all U.S. states.
One Mukilteo mother said, for her, the fight against counterfeit pills is personal.
"He was like the fun leader he was the glue that kind of kept our family together," said Gen Pehlivanian, whose first-born son died in 2019.
Trygve Pehlivanian from Mukilteo was dealing with a terrible sore and swollen throat that would not go away after visits to the ER, said his mother Gen Pehlivanian.
"He was just trying to, ya know, get some pain relief," Gen Pehlivanian said.
So he turned to a person he knew who dealt drugs.
"And bought what he thought was Percocet," Gen Pehlivanian said.
Trygve Pehlivanian died at just 20 years old from the fentanyl in that pill.
"And that's why I tell his story because I know he'd want me to use his story to prevent other kids and other families from going through what we've gone through," Gen Pehlivanian said.
Soon after, her pain turned to action.
"People should know about this," Gen Pehlivanian said. "I need to get into the schools and have them teach these kids awareness and prevention."
Gen Pehlivanian was invited Monday to share her story at a round-table discussion and listening session hosted by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, about the fentanyl crisis.
She pushed for a state-mandated fentanyl awareness prevention and education plan.
"I kind of gave my spiel and there were not really any questions on her side about it," Gen Pehlivanian said.
A spokesperson for Cantwell’s office told KING 5, “Throughout the listening tour, the senator has talked about the need for educating everyone, especially young people, on the deadliness and ubiquitous nature of fentanyl.”
In a press release ahead of the roundtable, Cantwell cited better education as part of the solution: “We need to take a multi-pronged approach to tackling this crisis. That means increasing capacity for treatment centers, better supporting first responders and law enforcement, including stocking them with naloxone and Narcan, and helping people before they become addicted by increasing our mental health care workforce, affordable housing, and better educating the public on how deadly fentanyl is. We also need to cut off the supply of this scourge before it gets into our communities in the first place.”
Under Washington state law, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) oversees and develops the state’s learning standards. In 2022, OSPI published guidelines on overdose treatment and training. That move came after the Washington state legislature passed Senate Bill 5380 requiring all school districts with 2,000 students or more to maintain opioid overdose reversal medication starting in the 2020-2021 school year. A statewide awareness requirement could follow that same path to implementation.
In the meantime, Gen Pehlivanian's efforts for awareness will continue, in hopes of making her son proud.
"I'm sure he's saying, 'Good job Mom. That's what I would have done,'" Gen Pehlivanian said.
