Cartel Fentanyl is in Everything - even Marijuana
Released Tuesday, 18th February 2025
Cartel Fentanyl is in Everything - even Marijuana
Cartel Fentanyl is in Everything - even Marijuana
Tuesday, 18th February 2025
Episode Transcript
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.54);--mdc-checkbox-selected-focus-state-layer-color:#fee36f;--mdc-checkbox-selected-hover-state-layer-color:#fee36f;--mdc-checkbox-selected-pressed-state-layer-color:#fee36f;--mdc-checkbox-unselected-focus-state-layer-color:black;--mdc-checkbox-unselected-hover-state-layer-color:black;--mdc-checkbox-unselected-pressed-state-layer-color:black}html{--mdc-checkbox-state-layer-size:40px}body{background:white}html{font-size:62.5%;height:100%}body{height:100%;font-family:AvertaStd;font-size:2rem;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing:grayscale;text-rendering:optimizeLegibility;letter-spacing:0;overflow-y:auto;overflow-x:hidden;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0;padding:0}#otter-seo{display:none;-webkit-user-select:none;user-select:none}</style><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://assets.otter.ai/styles.370f6abe335b4332.css"><style nonce="FAKE-NONCE" ng-app-id="otter-web">[_nghost-otter-web-c2860062299]{box-sizing:content-box}</style><meta property="twitter:player" content="https://otter.ai/twitter_card/note/oSdkgPSaSbE6JxzNwF3f3quuiq4?utm_source=copy_url"><meta property="twitter:player:width" content="480"><meta property="twitter:player:height" content="420"></head> <body> <app-root id="app-root" _nghost-otter-web-c2860062299 ng-version="16.1.3" class="material-icons-loaded" ng-server-context="ssr"><app-react-root _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299></app-react-root><router-outlet _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299></router-outlet><!----><tanstack-query-devtools _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299></tanstack-query-devtools></app-root> <div id="otter-seo" style="display: none"><h1 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>TOM_EP86_Paula Santos-Young_Composed Audio</h1><h2 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>8:20PM Jan 30, 2025</h2><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Speakers: </h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Michael Black</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Keywords: </h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl overdoses</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>DEA statistics</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl contamination</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Andrew's story</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Achieving Greatness</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Andrew's Law</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>marijuana laced</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl crisis</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>DEA partnership</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>cartel impact</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl legislation</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl awareness</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl education</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl prevention</h3><h3 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>fentanyl advocacy</h3><img _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299 src="https://otter.ai/static/Otter_Unfurl_Oct2019_LK94_1200x600@2x.png"><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Michael, welcome to the first episode of the opioid matrix for 2025 I'm your host. Michael Brown, let's start the new year with some good news. According to the DEA, fentanyl related overdoses and poisonings for 2024 are down 14.5% from 2023 which left its mark, taking an estimated 107,000 American lives. Now, according to DEA, five out of 10 pills now contain a lethal dose that kills but unfortunately, it's not just the pills that are taking young lives. Now, some dealers are lacing cannabis with fentanyl cases linked to contaminated weed are few, but the loss of a loved one is nevertheless just as painful. I want to welcome to the matrix Paula. Young. Paula is the director of achieving greatness, which is a community based nonprofit started by her son Andrew, who supported those who had a passion for basketball, but before Andrew could realize his full potential, his life was taken from him by a dealer who laced marijuana with fentanyl. So how does a parent turn tragedy into achievement to save other young lives from fentanyl? Let's find out. Paula, welcome to the matrix. Thank</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>you, Michael, thank you for having me, and thank you for that wonderful intro. You know, I think one of the things that I tell people all the time is, when you're a parent and you suffer the unthinkable of losing a child, you you have to take us a moment to have a process of of what are you going to do? Because we're broken. We're broken. We're shattered. And we we take some time to really figure out what are we going to do and how are we going to do this. And that came to me after a year when we unexpectedly lost Andrew, and we lost him just to take a step back. March 8, 2022 so Andrew was living in in Maryland. He was a basketball coach. That was his passion. He loved basketball. He started achieve greatness. As you had mentioned, more of a basketball skills for young adults from elementary all the way up to college level. And it became more of a mentoring, almost like a big brother, and he loved what he was doing, and he wanted to take it even further. He loved working with many in the community, and even kids who might have not been able to go to a basketball camp or even participate in basketball in schools because they were being told they weren't ready. Andrew was one of those Childs. He was one of those kids when he was in high school, he was told, sorry, we don't have a jersey for you. And that impact made a transition for him to want to do something later in life, which is why he created achieve greatness. You know, Andrew had been diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety due to a severe car accident he had three years prior, and he really never drove again due to that. And he also didn't take anything. He wouldn't take pills, even as a child, he just hated taking pills. So the doctor that he had discussed it with him and said, hey, I can give you a medical marijuana card. You know, why don't I help you fill it out? And he did. He filled out his medical marijuana card and and that's what he used for his anxiety and his PTSD. The person who gave Andrew the the joint, he knew it was not someone that he found off of Snapchat. As we know Michael, many of the dealers today, as we call it, this is the biggest drug dealer today is the cell phone. It's not the dealer that we remember back in the day, where you go to the corner, the cell phone has become the dealer today for our youth and for others. And he knew the person. And the person said, you know, because Andrew was working, he said, Hey, I'll bring it to you after no problem, unbeknownst to Andrew. He did not know that it was laced with not just fentanyl, but xylazine. That was what the medical examiner came back with. He was found by someone who was walking their dog, because Andrew had gone for a walk, kind of just to take a moment, and he had text me to say, Mom, I'm going to go for a walk. I'll talk to you in the morning. And that was the last text I got. And one of the things that I can say is, you know, it's difficult when you're doing this nonprofit, advocacy, awareness, prevention, education, because sometimes we have moments, and the moments can be triggered by someone in the audience who's named Andrew, or because something comes on, whether it was a song that he liked. Eight, or someone saying, Hey, I just made this dish, and that was the dish that they liked. You know, it's something that we we have to, you know, turn our pain into purpose, and that's what we've done. So what we have done, my husband and I, is we took achieve greatness, and we are now a 501 c3 and we're also a 504 so we have both of the the standings. And the reason we did the 504 Michael, and for everyone to know, is because of legislation achieved greatness, as of two weeks ago, has put forth a bill with many of the senior senators here in Massachusetts, which we're so humbled and honored to be part of a bill for education in all of the schools here in Massachusetts, it will be called Andrews law, and we're proud of that, you know, and we hope that we don't have any pushback. We do have bipartisan support, but these are the things that parents do all across the country. There's so many of us who are saying, you know, we want to save your child. And one of the things I always say to people all the time, especially when I speak, is Andrew's legacy will not be how he passed away, but how many lives he's saving, and that's for all of the unexpected losses that we've had in all of our angels. The comment goes for everyone</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>you know first, let me give you my deepest condolences for the loss of your son, especially in such an unforeseen and, you know, tragic way. You know, I've talked to a lot of parents on the show who who lost their daughter or their son in exactly the same way they took a pill or some other substance, which they got from a friend. It seems that it's not the stranger on the corner, but it's the people our children are trusting that's giving them, and perhaps they don't even know themselves, right? But nevertheless, our children are trusting people that you and I grew up truck. We trusted all our friends, that that scenario, that paradigm, has changed. And I think the the cornerstone of any educational process has to be, you know, yeah, these may be your friends, but you cannot trust anything that they give you, because it could take your life, correct? That's a hard message. How do you propose to to get that message across, not just from teenagers, but young adults as well,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>right? I can tell you that you know the messaging I stick. I stick true to my messaging and to Andrew's story and and then I also go into the athlete part of it, right? Because he was a basketball coach and he played basketball. And then how many athletes do we have out there today who get hurt, and then they're given a Vicodin or a Percocet for the pain, and then that doesn't become enough, so now they want something else, and they go to Snapchat, or they go to that friend that they thought could give them something, and it turns out that, unfortunately, now they're gone, and that parent is getting that call. You know, the messaging has to be consistent. And I say all the time that one of the things that I pride myself in in messaging as a parent is I remain consistent with my messaging. I don't veer off of it. And when I talk to either young adults or teenagers, you know, young kids and even elementary school, I tell them, you know, if you're going to trust your friend, your boy, your homie, however you want to call them, please understand that you might not come home and say goodbye to your family. I mean, I keep it very real with them, because we have to, right Michael, I mean, we're in a crisis. And unfortunately, I can also tell you we are, and many of the parents, I think, would agree, you know, the administration, the prior administration, unfortunately, really did not help us parents at all. You know, I, I, I'm an independent and I hold both sides feet to the fire all the time. But what I will say to you also is one of the things that I did have a conversation with someone not too long ago from my community, and you know, they are a Democrat. And they said, Well, Paul, I don't understand why you make the comment you make. And I said to them, I said, Well, with all due respect, we had a Republican National Convention. And they actually had a mom come and speak about the loss of her child, that she had lost the fentanyl poisoning. We had a Democratic National Convention, and you heard nothing. Do I need to go further, you know, and when people try to bring up politics, Michael, I will say to you, I shut them down right away. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. This is a United States of America issue, a humanitarian. In crisis. And as you know, we are losing a plane crash a day, and people are just not talking about it as they should. They should? I have many partnerships, Michael, as you are aware, with the DEA, FBI Secret Service, Homeland Security, and they say the same thing. You know, we're just not hearing enough about this. So that's why you have us parents who are out there, because we're not, we're not going to be silenced. You know, the message has to be very clear and understanding that if your child or your loved one, you know, goes to Snapchat or thinks that they're getting a gummy bear, vape pen, a Percocet, you know, a Vicodin, and that product that they're receiving from someone that's on the phone, you know, say goodbye to them because they're not coming back.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>You know, let's talk about, you know, fentanyl. I said, for the for the new year. DEA says, you know, roughly the numbers are down from 107,000 which is, which is a lot of people you know, down to what, 80,000 70,000 which was the norm for the last five or six years. So really it went up. It spiked to 107,000 now perhaps it's coming down to me. That doesn't mean there's less fentanyl. It's just the fentanyl that's out there is less potent. But nevertheless, like when Andrew's case, we're starting to see marijuana, or illegal marijuana, I should be clear, being laced. Now, whether that's intentional, or the marijuana was in a bag that had fentanyl, you know, I think that still needs to be determined. But nevertheless, it's fentanyl is still coming across from Mexico and flooding into the United States. Now, I know we don't like to get I don't like to get political either, but under the Biden administration, the open border policy allowed Mexican cartels, primarily Sinaloa and CJ and g of the new Jalisco generation cartel, to establish to refortify their hubs. They are in every city in the United States, and they are the prime distributors of fentanyl and methamphetamine to the local local trafficking groups, Latin Kings, crypts, Bloods, you know, what have you. So we're seeing more fentanyl come in, perhaps at lower doses, as DEA says, Now five out of 10 have a lethal dose, as opposed to seven out of 10, which says to me that cartels got maybe smarter. They're making fentanyl less potent. So now a user has to buy 10 pills instead of two. But nevertheless, I think it affects what you're trying to do, because now someone smokes marijuana laced with a little bit of fentanyl, they don't die. They get a really good high, and they go back, and now they become addicted to fentanyl. So but, you know, I commend you for what you're doing, but you it seems like you're rolling a really big rock up a very steep hill.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>You know, it's interesting, because I did an event where we had folks from the Massachusetts State Police there, and that the the sergeant that was there, he actually is part of Homeland Security, the unit of the Massachusetts State Police. And he kind of said the same thing to me. He said, Paula, you know, here in Massachusetts, marijuana is legal, so, you know, so how do you get the messaging out? And regardless if the if the rock is big or the mountain is high, my messaging is not going to change, because I'm doing this to save lives, so I'm not going to stop. It doesn't matter that. You know, marijuana is legal here in our state. Yes, marijuana is legal in many states. But you know what's not legal is when you're getting a blunt, or you're getting the marijuana and it's laced with fentanyl and xylazine, or meta tone, or so many other the precursors that they're putting in it, and then you're losing that person. That's what's not legal. Many of you know, and I'm sure even you Michael, last year, we had a big bust in Maine, and it was some businessmen who had purchased land, a couple of acres in Maine, and they were growing synthetic marijuana, and they were busted. And, you know, again, the marijuana of today, and I say this all the time, is not the marijuana from back in Woodstock and back in our day, it's not it's different. They are putting many different pre synthetics into them. They're causing things to happen that people are just not used to. And now, like you said, when you put fentanyl in it a little bit that doesn't kill you, now you have that person who's addicted. That's the drug dealers way, right? That's business 101, that's exactly what they want, because this is what this is to them. It's a business. So when you go ahead and you kill someone or someone dies on your block, and Michael, I'm sure you know this better than me, because of being in the DEA, you know they they come to you even more. More, you get more people coming to you to buy your product, not less,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>yeah, I mean, that's how fentanyl got in the supply line in the first place. Through First it started with Oxycontin, then it went to heroin users. Went to heroin. The cartel saw a huge opportunity, put fentanyl and heroin. So I mean only, I mean hundreds of 1000s of people. Millions of people smoke marijuana responsibly, whether legally or illegally, across the country, as well as use cocaine on a case by case basis. But certainly, if the cartel started to significantly lace, you know, cocaine and marijuana, we would see 107 double, maybe two, 300,000 overdoses of poisonings a year. But let me ask you, President Trump, in the first couple of days of being inaugurated, passed the foreign Terrorism Act, including some of the Mexican cartels. Do you see that as helping your agenda? I</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>I think we do we lose or froze, okay, ah, it's dropped. I'll pick it up, right? I</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>very cloudy,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>right? Yeah, there's A delay. I thank</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>you. Thank</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>so simple for</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>me. Sure?</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Yeah, I was talking to a couple days ago. He's so busy, he's just like, non stop. I mean, he's got, he's got to reorganize DEA, put together his executive board. He's got to dress this fentanyl issue like ASAP. He's got to get on that right away. So he's got to coordinate with all the the DEA offices throughout the United States, the managers overseas, Mexico.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>He lives out. He lives in Fairfax, so he's not that far. Yeah, you can just drive in every day. But I don't know if he's going to get his waiver or not, to keep his retirement on top of his executive salary. I think that's trying to work that out now.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>He just has to be appointed once, once the President's</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>sorry about that. The end the internet here is just insane, and I apologize for that, and we've had a lot of issues on this street. I live in a cul de sac. You would think living in a cul de sac, they would come and take care of you faster. They don't.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>How much of my last question Did you I'm sorry. Go ahead, Laura.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>I Okay, I just, I have everything closed, except for this.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Okay, yeah, I</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>was just saying, how much of the last conversation Did you hear? I was talking about the President's new counterterrorism I think you may be cut off before you heard that. Yeah, I did not hear it. Okay, so start. So you know, we were talking about, you know, how fentanyl got into the supply chain, and we know, through Purdue pharma that, you know. Millions of Americans became addicted to Oxycontin. That got cut off. They went to street heroin, and then the cartel saw an opportunity to addict individuals who were not previously disposed to illicit drug use. They then put fentanyl in that heroin. And now we are where we are, but as you know, 1000s, perhaps millions, of people smoke marijuana, either for medical reasons or recreationally, and use cocaine on a case by case basis, some of them responsibly, yeah. But if the cartels or domestic drug trafficking groups decide, hey, let's Let's replicate what we did with OxyContin and fentanyl with marijuana and and cocaine that could increase overdoses and poisonings to 200,000 right now. You know, President Trump recently issued his foreign Terrorism Act declaring some of the Mexican trafficking groups as terrorist organizations. Do you see that as a bold move that could help you in your initiative. I</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>see that as a positive move, and we thank him for doing that, because this is something that the parents like myself have been looking to have done for quite some time. I mean, look, it's a step in the right direction, right? They are a terrorist organization. I mean, just for what they've been doing to innocent lives and the lives that we've lost in the last four years, three years to fentanyl. It's been longer than that. And I think that, again, that's a first bold step. I know that a lot of talk is out there and around classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. You know, I agree with that also. And the reason I agree with that is because it is a weapon of mass destruction. I mean, you know, we talk about so many things in in reference to fentanyl and the crisis that we're having and occurring, and continues to occur all across the United States and now even in parts of Europe. But when we say that we want a positive action approach, well you don't see many people doing it. So to have the President actually sign executive order on his first day and make that happen, we applaud him. We applaud him. We stand with him, and we will stand right there with anyone who supports us in this fight, because, again, we can't do this alone. I say it all the time. The parents that are doing this, and the organizations out there across the United States, including ours, we have to have the partnership. The partnership has to be with people like yourself, to get the messaging out and with others, because this is a daunting task, but it's not one that we're going to give up on. And we hope that we can continue to have a, hopefully, a seat at the table with the new administration, to be able to work together to make sure that we save lives and we don't continue to lose lives. Because Michael, we all know it's about the supply, right? And the cartel is getting very good at what they're doing. Look, they're angry, because a lot that we've seen it all over the news, there's been a lot of busts that have occurred, and that's been a lot of money taken away from them. So what do they do? Last month, the AP press came out with an article that now they're going to the universities and hiring students that are in the science to, you know, to help them make even more fentanyl and start using other precursors they're not going to give up. So we can't,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>no, I mean, we've even seen what we're calling super labs in Canada now me being run by non cartel trafficking groups. So definitely, other criminal groups see America as the gold rush for for narcotic usage. But in terms of partners, I think you've got a great partner. Now, the new DEA, Administrator, Derek Maltz, as far back as 2011 in front of the Senate committee, called for the cartels to be designated as terrorist organizations. So this has been a long time coming, and I think administrator Maltz would be a great asset, because, as you know, he's been a champion of family groups such as yourself, who are struggling to rectify the deaths of their children that was taken by faith,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>right? And we so appreciate you know administrator Maltz, because he has been amazing. I mean, look, he didn't have to do what he did, right? He Derek hasn't lost a child to fentanyl and and for him to step up and say, You know what? This is a crisis that we all need to work together, that we need to tackle. When he was in the DEA, he saw a lot of things, just as you did, that you know, us parents can't even imagine. But we are appreciative of those who come to us like yourself, like you know Derek Maltz and so many others, whether it's the FBI, Homeland Security, Secret Service, US Marshals, all of them who say, how can we help? How can we work together? How can we combat? This together, because although I might not have lost a child or a loved one, I still want to be able to help, because you have compassion. And you know, with administrator marks, we're very excited. We're hoping that, you know, the DEA has done a lot of family summits across the country. We're hoping that they continue those and that. He even creates a committee of certain parents across the United States, maybe a committee of 1015, 20 parents who can be at the table every month on a meeting to really continue to elevate the messaging and the education, the awareness. Because if we really want to talk about it, Michael, you know, the cartel isn't stopping, right? They're a billion dollar organization. Well, we can't stop. So we have to try to be five stop, five steps ahead of them, because they're 20 steps ahead of us.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>You know, I believe you were selected to be on a commission, is that correct?</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Yes, achieve greatness was selected to be on a committee with the ONDCP. We are very excited about that. We are so honored, of course, as we know, there's an Acting Administrator Rice who is with the ONDCP. We have not been communicating with him as of yet. We've been doing this through Jim Carroll, who was the former drug czar, and he has been so pivotal in this, and again, another wonderful administrator from President Trump administration, who said, How can I help you? Know, I haven't lost someone, but how can I help you, parents? What can I do? And again, it goes back to people like yourself who are saying, Hey, I might not have lost someone, but what can I do to help to elevate this and to work together with all of you?</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Well, certainly we, we're glad you came on the matrix, because we want to offer our platform to you to get your message out. We think it's like you said, the cartels aren't going to quit. As a matter of fact, they're doubling down because suddenly, overnight, they lost billions of dollars in human trafficking. They went from making 10,000 supporting 10,000 individuals a day with illegal crossings, to maybe 500 and that's taking billions of dollars out of their pockets. So they're not happy about that. They're going to look to receive to make that money back, that means more fentanyl and more methamphetamine production to recoup those losses. So you're right. We've got to come out of the silos, the parents, the individual groups, law enforcement, and we've got to, we've got to use some of these new laws to go after the cartels, and not just the cartels, but the domestic groups, right? Because now think about it, if you're a domestic trafficking group and you're buying fentanyl or methamphetamine from Sinaloa Cartel, who may be now a terrorist organization, you can be charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization, and there's plenty of case law where American citizens have been charged for supporting al Qaeda or ISIS simply by sending an email, putting a post so and also, if someone dies as a result of taking fentanyl that they bought, that individual can be charged for manslaughter and serve up to 10 I think it's five to 10 years on the federal level. Yeah. So now you have a great tool where you can go into the state and say, we want this case to be federal under the Terrorism statute, and that may push a lot of people away from drug trafficking that see fentanyl as an easy way to make money. Yeah,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>and I think what's happening also, and I will share with you that even though the classification has been made by President Trump, I can tell you that a lot of parents are still having a hard time when they walk into their attorney general's office or the you know, attorney for the state, and say, Okay, now that this has happened, I want you to look at my case. They're being turned away because they're being told that, well, we just don't have people to look into this. And that is a crisis that I think really needs to be elevated. Because, again, even in my case, I mean, I know you don't know this, Michael, but I haven't had any justice for my case. I've had nothing, you know. So the person who gave Andrew the marijuana is still walking the streets in Maryland, and when I tried to get this elevated, the prosecutor basically said, I don't have enough people to do anything. So, you know. And then then you sit back as a parent, you're like, okay, so would you make the same comment if it was your child? Probably not. And now that it the classification has been made, and now that the phone calls are starting again, you're still being told the same thing. And I know that there are some wonderful people because you introduced me to someone. In the country who are doing wonderful things in reference to making sure that they are prosecuted and that they do go to jail. And we need more, exactly, more of those people. You know, he needs to maybe do a class around the country and say, This is how this is the platform, this is the program. This is how it works. Maybe that's what needs to happen. Because, again, I can tell you, there is parents like myself that are still fighting that battle because they are not doing anything. Our Attorney General here is not just, I mean, I don't even get a phone call back.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Well, here's the issue, the state's attorney, they don't want to double their caseload by going back and re indicting people under a new statute, right? Because it takes it federally. So you're going to run into a lot of resistance. I suggest to everyone, go over your state attorneys and go to the United States Attorney, the new the new United States Attorney, Pam Bundy, is phenomenal. It's going to take some time for people to get set up, because we really have to see how this statute is going to work. We need to see, you know, DEA or HSI prosecute a cartel member or domestic trafficking group under this statute, to reaffirm the case law, and then I think you're going to be able to really push for re indictments on a lot of these, a lot of these kids who were who were murdered, basically by either their friends who were selling drugs or drug dealers straight up. But there's going to have to be reindictments, and you're going to have to look at it, some of these old cases, and get them reclassified. And this is what the president ran on. So so far, promises made, promises kept, has been true. He's been true to his words. So, you know, I would recommend that your group and other groups go right to the United States Attorney.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Yeah, absolutely. And, and I, and I think that one of the biggest things too, also, I should say, is, you know, we want to make sure that people understand hearing this. You know, we're not here being that overbearing, you know, grieving parents, who are? You have to do it my way. That's not what we're asking for. We're just asking for the same exact, you know, option, like if I or if someone went out and hit somebody with a car and that person died, that's homicide. Or if somebody went and they shot somebody. You know, we want the same exact statue for us as is already in place for so many other things. And really, that's all we're asking for. I can tell you that what was said to me from the folks in in Maryland, the head detective, was that they called people in under a subpoena, and the answer that was given to me, and I don't even know what this means, because I'm not law enforcement, well, it didn't render much. I don't even know what that means. You know, I'm like, can you speak to me in English? Because what does that mean? Because, you know, my background is human resources, right? I'm an executive. I do consulting now, and after 30 years of being in my field, I can tell you that if I had someone in my corporation where I worked, or any corporation, and I had an industrial accident, and I had someone coming to me saying, well, it didn't render much, that person wouldn't have a job, they'd be gone, especially if it dealt with an accident that had occurred. So I think that's the other thing that's happening, Michael, to a lot of parents, is this is what they're being told, and they really don't have the support that they need, even from Some in law enforcement. I'm not saying everybody, because there has been some absolutely wonderful, wonderful stories of not just DEA agents, but local law enforcement really helping the parents and getting the justice that they deserve. But we do have some unfortunately, like in my case, and so many others that haven't had that</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Well, I think with this new this new statute, once you know, once everybody reads the fine print, see how it works. I think local law enforcement, state and local law enforcement will see this as a powerful tool that they can now use, because right now, the current administration, and even even the political administration, won't allow law enforcement to really go after some of these low level drug dealers, whether it's fentanyl or methamphetamine or what have you. So there's been no political support from Mayor's office, from the the local community boards or the governors in some of your sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, New York, or the police, their hands are tied if they bring a case, the prosecutors won't prosecute, right? So, you know, I don't know what the specifics of your case, but I you know it's it's very possible that they didn't see the support from the prosecutor's office, so they're not going to bring the case. But I think a lot of that's going to change once the United States attorney gets, you know, gets seated in her position, gets a better grip on what's happening, and then, you know, it could take maybe six, maybe several months before we see this, this new law really enacted, but I can guarantee. To you this, the cartels are sitting down around the table talking about how this is going to impact their business, and what are they going to do if President Trump actually comes across that board,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>right? And the thing is, too, is that we talk about the cartels and, you know, and you just mentioned it the money that they've lost, so if we think that they're just going to double down and, okay, we're done, that's not going to happen. You know, they're going to use other tactics. And unfortunately, from what we do know about the cartel, it's not like back in the day with the mafia, right? The mafia, if they didn't like Tony, they would go after Tony, and that's it. Today, the the cartel, they will come after everyone you're associated with who you might have been associated with. They don't care.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>No, you're 100% right, and we've already seen the some pushback. There was a shootout, I think it was maybe Monday, where the some cartel members were shooting at CVP. So I think as the cartels begin to feel the pressure, we could see an escalation in violence on the US border with US law enforcement, in which case, God forbid, a US law enforcement officer is hurt or killed. I think that's going to be the red line for this administration, yeah,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>and we absolutely don't want that to happen, right? Because they're putting their life on the line. I mean, we have so many military personnel there now helping at the border, and we thank them for that, and we thank everything that Tom Holman has been doing because, I mean, you talk about someone who, and I hope that it's okay, who's kicking ass and taking names, yeah, we can work with that. He's doing that. I mean, like, I want to meet this man because, and, and, you know, but I will say he's also being very supportive and compassionate for us families, because he's talked about the families many times. He's talked about how, you know, why is it fair that these families have to submit to the deaths that have occurred, or that those children that are being trafficked? So that's okay, you know? So I love when people talk to him, because he keeps it very real.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Yeah. I mean, Tom Holman, in terms of law enforcement, is a superstar. I mean, he's been saying he's gonna, he's been talking about it for the last four years, and now he's in a position where you can actually execute a lot of his plans. And he's removed over he's removed 1000s of criminals from our country. A lot of those were drug traffickers, yeah? Who would be selling? You know, other children and young adults fentanyl and other narcotics in addition to other violent crimes. So I think America is now moving in the right direction. We just have to get that momentum and get this new administration settled in, get the rest of President Trump's executive team in place, and I think you're going to begin to see some some serious changes now, I believe you're also putting together a panel group to go out and talk to the public, tell us, tell us something about that. Yes, I</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>am. In fact, I've asked you to be part of it, which I'm sure you'll be so thrilled to be part of anything that I do, and you're going to see how much of a pain I can be. But no, and you know, and it's interesting, because you brought it up, and so many other people brought it up. You know, one of the things that Tom Holman did very well is he created a wonderful team called border 911, and, you know, Derek mult was part of it, and these were some superstars that went around and talked about the dangers at the border, and they brought logistical and factual information. Well, now we're going to do the same thing. We just have to come up with a name. But, you know, you're going to be part of it. We have a former agent from Homeland Security and Interpol who's part of it. We have the former director of Massachusetts hazmat. We have a DOJ attorney who is going to be flying in, hopefully, to do many of these events. You know, we have FBI agents who are going to be part of it, and this is something that, again, we need to start talking about the safety, right? Because, and this comes from you, Michael, and your verbiage, the cartel and the things that they're starting to do is affecting the safety in the communities, and that's what we're not talking about, and it needs to be talked about. It needs to be talked about because people just think, you know, they have this misconception of, Oh, my God, fentanyl. It's just saturating everybody. Okay, that person passed away. All right, let's move on. No, that can't be the mindset you have.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>No, I'd be happy to to be on your panel because someone told me you were very dangerous person. Something about throat punching. I understand, so I don't want to get throat punch. So I'm definitely going to be on the panel to do what I can help you bring that message.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Yes, that's Jim Carroll. If he was here right now on your call, he'd be telling you he has told people in Washington DC, don't, don't piss off Paula, because she'll throat punch you and and I told them, I said, I'm not sure if that's the way you want to introduce me, but okay, and I love Jim. He has been amazing. I mean, he is. I mean, if you talk about someone who has so much compassion and support for us, parents and just a genuine salt of the earth human being, he. Really is. He is truly an amazing person. And just when he was the drug czar, I mean, let's talk about that, the numbers were down right when he was in charge of the drug czar and being head of the ONDCP. And you we know that he's been asked to do it again because of how well he did at it. He was amazing. I know that he has not taken the position as of yet because we have administrator rice there, who's the Acting Administrator. But you know, we're happy that we can work with people like Jim, like yourself, again, like administrator Baltz and so many others. And you know, Tom Homan, who support us and are standing with us to say, hey, we're in this together. You're not behind me. You're on the side of me.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>Well, you know, like, like Winston Churchill said one of his favorite quotes, my favorite quotes, is like, victory must come at all costs, at any cost. And I think America is on the right trajectory now to January 25 to achieve a lot of the goals you're talking about, we cannot sit back and just let other people do the work. We have to do it ourselves. But Paul, I'm just about out of time, but I want to give you the last few minutes to kind of send your message out to people. Maybe give a contact information. If someone wants to join your community, join the panel other experts, I'll give you the floor. Thank</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>you. So if anybody wants to see everything that achieve greatness is doing, you can go on to achieve greatness 88 so the number 80 eight.org and you'll see our website, everything that we have done, what some of the things that we are doing, we're going to be updating it. And if anyone wants to reach out to me, I mean, I have no problem giving my cell phone. My husband says it all the time. Everyone The United States has my cell phone. One more person's not gonna one more person will be okay. So my number is actually 774-417-7972,</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>and the reason I do that is because, again, of the transparency, right? We want to make sure that we have that transparency. And I think my message to everyone listening would be, please speak to your family and to your loved ones and to your children, and please don't think it can't happen to you, because it can we. We never thought that it would happen to us, and it did. And again, the messaging needs to be one of unity and compassion and support for each other, because this is difficult. When you lose a child, you lose a piece of you. I tell people all the time, I've lost 33% that will never come back, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to fight with the rest of the percentage that I do have for your child and to make sure that you are never us. I said yesterday on a meeting that I was at with the health commissioner, because he asked me, he said, You know what keeps you going? And I said, Because I'm speaking for the mother that hasn't lost a child yet.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>You know that's that's impactful. And if I'm a father or a mother and I'm listening to this, this podcast, you just, just got my vote that last statement, because it's about trying to save my kid again, I want to thank Paul Young for coming on the show from achieve greatness 88 you have all her contact information. Don't be shy. Reach out. She won't throw a punch, you promise. And let's start making America great again. Paul, thank you for coming on the matrix. Thank</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>you so much for having me. Michael. I appreciate you so much. And you know like Tom Holman says we're gonna kick ass and take names.</h4><h4 _ngcontent-otter-web-c2860062299>There we go with that. We'll say till the next time. Thank you. 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