Mona Leonardi, who lost her son Michael to a fentanyl overdose in 2020, speaks during the united against Fentanyl rally in Napa on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
RILEY PALMER
UNITED AGAINST FENTANYL
As the sun began to dip beneath the Napa Valley's rolling hills Wednesday evening, about 50 Napans gathered in downtown Napa, who marched and mourned the loved ones they have lost to the opioid epidemic.
The rally and vigil at Veterans Memorial Park, United Against Fentanyl, showcased community eff orts to battle a crisis that has touched Napa County and other parts of the U.S. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid used to treat pain, is a potent and inexpensive drug that in recent years has been used to cut other drugs without buyers' knowledge, leading to oft-fatal overdoses.
Leaders and advocates from Napa County, Aldea and nonprofits like Song for Charlie shared their experiences with the opioid epidemic and its harms. Among the speakers was Mona Leonardi, who opened up about losing her son, Michael Leonardi, to fentanyl poisoning.
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"Our children, our loved ones and our community need to know the reality of what's out there, the fake pills made with fentanyl, the social media dealers and the fatal consequences," Leonardi said. "This is a community issue. Illicit fentanyl is in our neighborhoods and it's on our phones."
Leonardi is the co-founder of the Michael Leonardi foundation named for her son, who was 20 when he died in February 2020 after ingesting a fentanyl-laced pill he thought was the painkiller Percocet during his freshman year at San Diego State University.
"I want to be very clear here: This isn't a case of poor judgment," his mother said at the Napa rally. "This is about predators. Drug dealers and traffickers and social media platforms like Snapchat that target teens and young adults into a deadly trap."
Leonardi called for more accountability for social media companies and protections for young people, as well as harsher penalties for drug traffickers.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine, and one kilogram of the drug has the potential to kill as many as 500,000 people.
Nathan Hobbs, Napa County's assistant deputy director of behavioral health for the county, spoke about countywide eff orts among nonprofits to provide treatment, and emphasized that help is available for those struggling with addiction.
Hobbs noted that Napa County Behavioral Health will open a new clinic in December specializing in medication that reduces opioid cravings and helps patients to take advantage of counseling.
Napa's Opioid Safety Coalition provided information about harm reduction as well as various supplies -- fentanyl test strips, pill bottle padlocks and free naloxone, a drug commonly branded Narcan that can be used to quickly reverse an opioid overdose.
Christina Julian, a Song for Charlie spokesperson who was joined by her children Cindy and Dakota Dwyer, shared the story of her niece Claire, who died after taking a pill that was ostensibly Xanax but contained fentanyl. A musician, Claire was 22 and had just released her first song publicly on the day of her death.
"Every news headline that comes out about fentanyl and every statistic that is talked about -- those horrific statistics that are unfortunately true -- behind every single one of those is a loved one lost," said Julian. "A family like ours and the Leonardis and the other people here tonight."
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley, who has been a state and federal prosecutor for about 25 years, told audience that the threat of fentanyl is unlike anything else she has seen in her career.
"Fentanyl is cheap, addictive, and is wiping out an entire generation," she said.
Haley admitted that in her role she can sometimes get involved only after the damage is done, but remains committed to creating a culture in which fentanyl and drug trafficking is not tolerated.
"Napa doesn't fool around. Tell the others," she said. "I am both grateful and so very sorry that we are gathered here tonight."
United Against Fentanyl emphasized a countywide campaign "FENTANYL: Fake & Fatal. Know the risks, Save a life." Before Wednesday's rally, Leonardi said the campaign's goal is raise public awareness about the potency of fentanyl, how to reverse an overdose as it happens, and how to make the community safer.
"We're working on getting ahead of it, but unfortunately we have lost young people in this community to fentanyl," said the rally's master of ceremonies Katie Stith, who directs behavioral health services for Aldea Children & Family Services. "One is too many."
Before night fell on Wednesday, attendees marched along the Napa River, holding signs with messages such as "Over 70,000 fentanyl deaths a year in the U.S. That's 200 a day" and "Fentanyl is killing a generation."
Many in the crowd expressed a somber knowingness with their silence. Two of those people were Angel Dietl and family friend Lavetta Farrell.
One of the vigil members, Angel Dietl, lost her son Sammy Contreras to a fentanyl overdose in October 2022. Sammy was 26 when he died under the Maxwell Bridge in south Napa.
"He was a drug addict," she said. "But he was a person; his funeral was packed."
Dietl believed the rally an effective way to get the word out about the harm that opioids can bring. In her spare time, she sometimes hands out backpacks at Kennedy Park containing socks, beanies -- and Narcan.
Dietl's friend Lavetta Farrell, who also took part in the rally, used to do drugs with Contreras. She feels responsible for not setting a better example, but also understands the complex reasons behind drug dependency.
"Addiction is hard all the way across," Farrell said. "When you put fentanyl into it, you never know."
At the end of the rally, Dietl and Farrell shared a moment of silence with other attendees, trading their rally signs for small candle-shaped flashlights.
Both women have endured grief from their losses, but Farrell said that Contreras' death has taken her to both ends of human emotion.
"I know that Sammy has made me love more than any other human being, but also suffer the most loss. It's almost like a beautiful thing," she said. "All I can do is try to educate, prevent and support the family."
you can reach riley Palmer at 707256-2212 or [email protected].
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