B.C. mom who lost son to fentanyl shares her story

WATCH: Jennifer Woodside lost her son to fentanyl when he was just 21. Now she is sharing her story to prevent another senseless death.

It’s been almost a year since Jennifer Woodside’s 21-year-old son Dylan passed away after taking the pain medication oxycodone, which was laced with fentanyl.

“He was really tired, he went to bed and never woke up,” says Woodside. “They found him the next morning.”

Fentanyl-laced drugs are being blamed for a spike in deaths in B.C.

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The synthetic narcotic is 50 to 100 times more toxic than other drugs like morphine. Illicit fentanyl has been showing up in liquid, powder and pill form. It can be masked in virtually any consumable product.

On March 3, police announced 12 arrests and more than 100 charges connected to the drug, part of a project dubbed “Project Tainted.”

Police seized seven cars, $215,000 in cash, 29,000 pills of fentanyl, 147,000 pills believed to be Alprazolam, 13,000 oxycodone pills, 9.5 kg of crack cocaine, 5.5 kg of powdered cocaine, 19.5 kg of marijuana, various other drugs and a pill press. In addition, four guns and a bulletproof vest were also seized.

Woodside is pleased police are working to take fentanyl off the streets. She hopes her loss can help dissuade others from taking drugs.

“Please don’t because it’s so devastating for the family,” she says. “It’s just the hardest thing.”

-with files from Catherine Urquhart and Yuliya Talmazan