I was blessed to attend an event on Sept. 1 to “go purple” and kick off Recovery Month in Montgomery County. Purple is the color symbolizing help and support in recovery from drugs. It followed International Overdose Awareness Day, which the county marked with a ceremony and candlelight vigil to remember those lost in such a tragic way.

There were 135 overdose deaths last year in Montgomery County alone, which doesn’t count hospitalizations and ongoing addictions. The problem is all around us. I see it in my work at Catholic Charities, and many of my brother priests speak of hospital visits and funerals related to drugs and overdoses within their parishes.

We have experienced problems particularly with fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain. We have about 2,500 beds in the shelters run by Catholic Charities, and individuals who use fentanyl occasionally pass out and go into seizures right there in the dorm. Fortunately, there is a medication called Narcan to help reverse the effects of narcotic overdoses and stabilize the person as medical help is on the way. 

We have also experienced similar situations at our St. Maria’s Meals Wednesday dinners in front of our main offices on G Street. We serve about 150 men and women every week, and people will sometimes pass out and fall to the ground. We know immediately what is happening.

I want to emphasize that this problem exists throughout our community. It is not limited to individuals who live in shelters, or our poorest neighborhoods, or any race or ethnicity. Drugs do not discriminate. They adversely impact the lives of those in poverty, those in the middle class, and those who are affluent.

The problem most recently seems to be cocaine that has been laced with fentanyl. The person purchasing the cocaine may be unaware that fentanyl has been added to it, and sadly, they may never wake up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fentanyl overdose is now the No. 1 cause of death among U.S. adults aged 18 to 45. At the funerals, it is so sad to see parents and loved ones gather around a young adult who has left them too quickly, and usually not of their own intention. 

You are probably also familiar with another opioid called Oxycontin (oxycodone). If you had surgery or were in the hospital, you may have been given this drug, also for serious pain. It can be highly addictive for some people. I have seen multiple people deal with this addiction, including at least one priest friend of mine, and I purposely limited how many I took after my most recent heart surgery. 

I wanted to write about this tragic problem to remind us that drugs are still out there and still doing damage. As I attended the event on Sept. 1, I was grateful that Montgomery County and other jurisdictions are doing their best to help those facing addiction and overdoses, to see and hear from good people trying to help those who are on that path, and to raise awareness so all of us realize the dangers that are out there. I fear that young people especially, who often have a sense of invincibility, don’t fully consider the potential consequences of taking drugs even once, from legal troubles to illness to death.

All it takes is one time to result in tragedy. We witnessed this in a very public way more than 35 years ago when University of Maryland basketball player Len Bias died just two days after being selected second in the 1986 NBA draft. The autopsy report showed no regular use of cocaine, and that it may even have been his first time using it. The cocaine he ingested was unusually pure, which caused cardiac arrest in an elite and powerful athlete who many thought was destined to be one of the all-time greats.

A number of months ago, I was asked to preside at the funeral of a young man from one of our local parishes who had died in his sleep. Many of us worried that it may have been related to some sort of overdose, though it was not mentioned at the time. We were more focused on praying for the young man who died and his grieving family. 

More recently, the father of that young man has gathered the younger generation – his children, nieces and nephews – to make them aware that it was probably an accidental overdose that took the young man’s life. The thinking is he had purchased bad drugs laced with something from an unsavory dealer, and he never woke up. The family doesn’t want this to happen to others.

I admire this family and all who confront the drug problem head on in the hopes of helping others. Montgomery County is working to make a difference, as are other jurisdictions. I encourage all of us across the entire diocese to consider how we can help prevent the misuse of drugs to spare current and future generations unnecessary illness, death and the profound heartbreak of their loved ones.

(Msgr. John Enzler, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, writes the “Faith in Action” column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)