GRANDVIEW, Mo. — KSHB 41 News has told countless stories about the illicit use of fentanyl.
Stories about people who have lost their loved ones, near-fatal overdoses, enforcement efforts and billboards with the faces of those who lost their battle.
But this time, a teenager is sharing his story of how he's joined the fight to keep people away from the drug.
“I’m really surprised and really proud of myself,” said Ethan Wood, a 15-year-old student at The Barstow School.
Ethan talked to KSHB in his bedroom, which also serves as his studio and production bay.
“I started making music videos of me playing piano,” Ethan said. “Through the pandemic, I learned video production. In my community, I want to be a leader, I want to make a difference in the world.”
He made a public service video for the Kansas City Drug Enforcement Agency warning about the dangers of fentanyl use and abuse.
“During the pandemic, it’s hard for teenagers to be isolated," said Andrea Wood, his mother. "Instead of turning to drugs or alcohol or other things, he channeled his alone time into learning video and music production."
The PSA is part of a competition sponsored by the DEA in Kansas City, DEA Educational Foundation and Keepin Clean with Coop.
Retired DEA agent Steve Murphy was invited to speak at the competition's awards ceremony. He says he thought he'd seen it all before fentanyl.
“We thought, well there’s nothing worse than meth. Well now there’s fentanyl,” Murphy said. “Cliché, but the children are the future. If we don’t do things to help the kids, how do we expect things to get better? We’re seeing things in our country now that we’ve never seen before.”
But Ethan knew he wanted to make a difference.
“I thought that’s just devastating," he said. "If people knew more about drug abuse in our community, then maybe people would make better choices."
He won the DEA's competition and earned $1,000 for his college fund.
