Florida AG issues warning after overdoses linked to fentanyl-laced drugs

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Florida’s Attorney General is issuing a warning after five West Point cadets overdosed on fentanyl last week while on spring break in the Fort Lauderdale area.

"Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid, 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams can kill a full-grown adult," said Attorney General Ashley Moody.

Experts say fentanyl has become a national crisis, and it is fueling the explosion of drug overdose deaths.

"It is a time bomb, a ticking time bomb," Polk County Sheriff Grady told FOX 13.

The drug is produced in China and shipped to Mexico where it is mixed with other drugs, such as methamphetamine and cocaine, to give users a stronger high.

RELATED: West Point cadets on spring break overdose on fentanyl-laced cocaine in South Florida vacation home

Users likely have no idea that there is any fentanyl in their drugs, according to one Winter Haven resident Janet Del Castillo. 

She told FOX 13 she was like a mother to a man who likely suffered accidental fentanyl overdose – and she wants to warn others. 

Janet said the man, only being identified as Sebastian, was a lively 30-something who liked to go out on Saturdays to meet up with friends.

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After a recent Saturday outing, Janet found him slumped on a bench next to her barn, early the next morning.

"I went to him and I shook him because I was pretty angry, and I said, ‘wake up,’" she said.

She thought he was drunk.

A week later, life support was disconnected and Janet says doctors think he overdosed on fentanyl.