His family are waiting on the results of a toxicology report, which could take up to a month. But if it’s true that Marco lost his life to fentanyl, one thing is clear: he did not die of an overdose. 

He was poisoned.

Every week in America, about 22 kids die of a drug overdose. Eighty percent of those deaths are linked to fentanyl—a cheap synthetic opioid fifty times more potent than heroin. Even with illicit drug use among middle and high school students on the decline, fatal teen overdoses have never been higher. ...

I have met 18 families across the country who have lost children to fentanyl. The parents of these victims include lawyers, day laborers, business owners, and cashiers. No race, class, or ethnicity has been spared. But like the family of Marco Troper, they all share one thing in common: they did not appreciate the danger of fentanyl until it took a child from their lives.