(NewsNation) — All across America, people’s lives are upended by fentanyl, whether it’s them or a loved one facing addiction or even death due to the dangerous drug.
Ohio residents Mark Murphy and Tom Quehl are two fathers who’ve had the unthinkable happen to them — they both lost a child to fentanyl.
Now, their quest to make sure no one else has to go through the same has led them to the United States-Mexico border, where the deadly drug is illegally smuggled into the United States.
NewsNation rode along with them as they spoke to Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland in Texas about the situation.
Murphy said after his daughter died, there were a lot of “What ifs?” that haunted him. But now, Murphy said, he’s focused on “what is.”
“‘What is’ is our opportunity to really make a mark, really help people out — especially moms and dads that are suffering,” Murphy said.
Spending time with Cleveland, Murphy said, gave him and Quehl insight into what border officials deal with.
“We want to know what they need,” he said. “It’s getting the message out and just inviting ourselves in where the problem is. The takeaway from that is to go back to our communities in Ohio and nationwide and make a difference in our communities.”
Being on the border, for Quehl, was surreal.
“It’s beautiful. But it’s also sinister in my mind,” he said. “Knowing that’s where it’s coming from — it’s tough to look at that and say, ‘Boy, is that a really pretty place.'”
What hurts both men is the idea that drug cartels on the border are getting rich off deadly fentanyl.
“That brings tears to my eyes,” Murphy said.
Quehl said what hurts him is that to cartels, people’s lives are “just business.”
“When the Americans die from it because they had no idea that they were taking it — it’s just a checkmark,” he said. “(Cartels are like) ‘I’ll find new customers.’ Like there’s no heart in it.”
Both men have taken measures to educate people on the dangers of fentanyl. Quehl started a foundation in his son’s name called “Do it for Jack,” for instance.
But Murphy and Quehl say lawmakers need to act to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
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