😱💔 He Try Save Friend. Dem Charge Am For Murder.
Dem buy $30 worth of fentanyl before dem enter rehab. One overdose. Di oda one dey court for im death. 😥🚑🔒 Josh Askins wake up for di crawl space of one old house with nausea, chills and one kain pain for im leg. E don be seven hours since im smoke fentanyl last, and di withdrawal symptoms dey worse every minute. E roll for im sleeping bag and dey look di graffiti wey e carve for di rotten floor. “Fentanyl na HELL,” e bin write few weeks ago, but now e stand up begin search for more. 🔍😩
E waka cross di road and see im friend Chris Drake dey siddon for im grandma front porch for downtown Oklahoma City, dey watch as sunrise with Budweiser for one hand and Bible for di oda. Drake, 47, bin dey read di book for di sixth time, and Askins, 42, don dey bond with am for di last weeks sake of dia shared faith and also dia shared failings. Dem bin call one rehab place wey dey accept Medicaid and don make plans to detox together with di help of medication, but dia check-in date still dey days away. 🌅📖
“I dey pain me wella,” Askins yan dat morning for late April. 😩
“You tink say you fit arrange small something for us?” Drake ask am, according to court records.
“I fit always arrange something,” Askins yan.
Dem enter Drake car around 5:30 a.m. and go search for di drug wey don change dia body, dia mind, and so many things about di United States. For 2023, fentanyl and oda synthetic opioids dey cause average of 3,400 emergency room visits and 190 fatal overdoses every day. Wetin bin dey one kain obscure drug wey dem dey use treat pain for end-stage cancer patients don turn to di main cause of death for Americans wey dey under 50, and now di argument for state capitols and courtrooms all across di country na how to stop dis crisis and who to hold responsible. 🚑💉💔
Askins and Drake dey sometimes play wetin dem dey call “the addicts’ blame game” during dia conversations for di porch. Together, dem dey curse di doctors wey first prescribe opioids give dem sake of injury; and di drug companies wey sabi sey dem dey flood market with addictive products; and di cartels wey dey produce and send millions of doses from Mexico enter Oklahoma; and di street dealers wey dey mix fentanyl with oda drugs so dem go fit hook more people; and di reality of life for America’s margins wey dey make dem dey go back to di dealers again and again to dull dia pain, loneliness and disappointment. 😤🤬🤝
Dem drive reach one Red Roof Inn and later go one oda motel near di airport, where, according to police reports, Askins meet one dealer wey don sell am fentanyl before. Drake bring out im wallet, give cash give Askins, and Askins pay $30 for three-tenths of one gram of white fentanyl powder wey dey look like small pinch of sugar inside one small nylon. Dem park for one carwash, and Drake put di white powder for top one piece of tinfoil, cook am with lighter and inhale di smoke. E take two hits and Askins take one. Askins fall sleep for some seconds. As e open im eye, e see Drake dey slump and e dey fall. 😴😱💥
NOW IN ENGLISH
😱💔 He tried to save his friend, but they charged him with murder.
They bought $30 worth of fentanyl before entering rehab. One overdose. The other is in court for his death. 😥🚑🔒 Josh Askins woke up in the crawl space of an old house with nausea, chills, and excruciating pain in his leg. It had been seven hours since he last smoked fentanyl, and the withdrawal symptoms were worsening by the minute. He unrolled his sleeping bag and gazed at the graffiti he had carved on the decaying floor. “Fentanyl is HELL,” he had written a few weeks ago, but now he stood up and began searching for more. 🔍😩
He crossed the road and saw his friend Chris Drake sitting on his grandma’s front porch in downtown Oklahoma City, watching the sunrise with a Budweiser in one hand and a Bible in the other. Drake, 47, was reading the book for the sixth time, while Askins, 42, had bonded with him in recent weeks due to their shared faith and struggles. They had called a rehab facility that accepted Medicaid and made plans to detox together with the help of medication, but their check-in date was still days away. 🌅📖
“I’m in a lot of pain,” Askins said that morning in late April. 😩
“Do you think you can arrange something for us?” Drake asked him, according to court records.
“I can always arrange something,” Askins replied.
Around 5:30 a.m., they got into Drake’s car and went in search of the drug that had altered their bodies, minds, and so many things about the United States. In 2023, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids caused an average of 3,400 emergency room visits and 190 fatal overdoses every day. What was once a relatively obscure drug used to treat pain in end-stage cancer patients had become the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. Now, the argument in state capitols and courtrooms across the country is how to stop this crisis and hold those responsible. 🚑💉💔
During their conversations on the porch, Askins and Drake sometimes played what they called “the addicts’ blame game.” Together, they cursed the doctors who first prescribed opioids to them due to injury, the drug companies flooding the market with addictive products, the cartels producing and smuggling millions of doses from Mexico into Oklahoma, the street dealers mixing fentanyl with other drugs to hook more people, and the harsh realities of life on America’s margins that led them back to the dealers again and again to numb their pain, loneliness, and disappointment. 😤🤬🤝
They drove to a Red Roof Inn and later to another motel near the airport, where, according to police reports, Askins met a dealer who had sold him fentanyl before. Drake pulled out his wallet, gave cash to Askins, and Askins paid $30 for three-tenths of a gram of white fentanyl powder that resembled a small pinch of sugar inside a tiny plastic bag. They parked at a carwash, and Drake placed the white powder on a piece of tinfoil, heated it with a lighter, and inhaled the smoke. He took two hits, while Askins took one. Askins fell asleep for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes, he saw Drake slumping and falling. 😴😱💥
