Fentanyl: The New Way To Kill Black and Latin People Part 2 (for the first part of this article go to page 3)

In 2022, White people comprised just over half of the fatalities. Black deaths made up 28% and Latinx deaths made up 15%. Two-thirds of the drug-related deaths now involve fentanyl or a similar synthetic opioid. They are cheap substitutes for heroin that have become near-ubiquitous in illegal drug compounding.. The US Drug Enforcement Administration revealed in December 2022, it seized more than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl in 2022 — more than enough to kill every single American.

According toThe US Drug Enforcement Administration its agents confiscated more than 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills, which is more than double compared to last year, and over 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder since January, 2022.

The highly addictive synthetic opioid is 50 times stronger than heroin. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl — an amount that fits on the tip of a pencil — is considered a potentially deadly dose.

What is perhaps most alarming and disturbing is that NJ, similar to NYC has seen an increase in unregistered cannabis “mom and pop” type drug stores. These stores were established without the state’s venting process and without being registered.

A registered and legal cannabis op- eration is required to meet the state’s strict standard as to the quality and constancy of the products sold in their stores. On the other hand, the mom and pop cannabis operations sell whatever they can obtain off the gray market.

Cannabis products sold through these illegal operations often contain harmful contaminants. One of those contaminants is fentanyl with the store owner and his or her customers totally unaware of what exactly is being sold.

However, with the exception of the government not getting its tax cut of the unregulated cannabis businesses, the fact that it is only Black and Latinx consumers who are dying seems not to be a concern.

It reminds one of the quote from the Godfather I, “I also don’t believe in drugs. For years I paid my people extra so they wouldn’t do that kind of business. Somebody comes to them and says, I have powders; if you put up three, four thousand dollar investment - we can make fifty thousand distributing. So they can’t resist. I want to control it as a business, to keep it respectable. I don’t want it near schools - I don’t want it sold to children! That’s an infamia. In my city, we would keep the traffic in the dark people - the colored. They’re animals anyway so let them lose their souls.”

Makes you wonder if Ahsaki Tamara McCall was White if her death might have been handled differently.

Ahsaki Tamara McCall was born September 3, 1973 and transitioned on December 5, 2021. She was the oldest daughter of Carl and Flora McCall and beloved mother to Iman Lively. At an early age she was baptized at Union Baptist Church in Trenton where she was a member and served as a junior usher.

Ahsaki was a lifelong resident of the Ewing and Trenton area. She graduated from Bethany Lutheran School in Ewing and Blessed Sacrament in Trenton. Later she graduated from Ewing High School where she played basketball and was an avid swimmer receiving a certificate of achievement from the College of New Jersey. While in high school, Ahsaki was a junior debutante and graduated from the Granville Academy.

She continued her education at Mercer County Community College and The College of New Jersey where she earned her Bachelor’s in Communications and Journalism. She also completed her coursework at the Princeton School of Real Estate and subsequently obtained her real estate license.

Professionally, Ahsaki was an Asso- ciate of the Public Partnership, the Slate House Group Property Management, and a real estate agent for Hundley Real Estate. She also worked for 18 years with the NJ Department of Commerce and briefly with the NJ Department of Treasury.

Ahsaki was remembered as a kind person who liked to share her many skills, including fashion and speaking talents, with others. She loved to travel and spend time with family and friends.

But more than anything, Ahsaki loved being the mother of her daughter, Iman and spoiling her granddaughter, Kennedy, who affectionately called Ahsaki GiGi.

She was so proud of her family and would often be heard recounting the special time she spent with each one. In addition to her daughter and granddaughter, Ahsaki had a close bond with her parents and her younger sister, Shahida.

Ahsaki Tamara McCall lived and her life mattered.

Readers are encouraged to go to the The Nubian News website clink on the podcast and view Mr. McCall’s story of the death of his beloved and beautiful daughter, Ahsaki Tamara McCal.