Anderson Co. program educates community about drugs

ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — The Anderson County Coroner’s Office has started a program to educate the community about the dangers of drugs.

The program is called D.E.A.D., which stands for drugs end all dreams. According to Alyssa Whitfield, the coroner’s office’s public information officer, there were 101 drug-related deaths in Anderson County in 2023.

“We think that drug deaths have gone down this year, but overdoses have not gone down,” Whitfield said. “A lot of people don’t know that Anderson County has a drug problem. It’s something that we see everyday, but the general community doesn’t know.”

The coroner’s team goes to schools to speak with children about drugs and what could happen if they use them.

“They may hear it from their parents,” Whitfield said. “For kids, it’s kind of in one ear and out the other. We’re hoping by the coroner’s office coming, it’s more of a reality to them that this could cause their death.”

In elementary schools, they speak with children about alcohol, vapes and gateway drugs. In middle schools and high schools, they discuss fentanyl.

“Most kids don’t know what they’re taking,” Whitfield said. “They think they’re getting a Xanax off the street that their friends are taking, and it’s being laced with fentanyl.”

The team also speaks to adults and hopes to educate them about the dangers of prescription drugs that are sold illegally.

“We’ve had some 70-year-olds who we’ve had overdose and pass away,” Whitfield said. “We think that it’s because they’re not able to afford their medication. They get their pain medicine off the street, and it ends up being laced with fentanyl and that’s what makes them pass away.”

The coroner’s team hopes their work will make a difference in the county.

“If we can just save one life, it makes the entire program and work worth it,” Whitfield said.

The coroner’s office will hold a D.E.A.D. program event on October 7 at the Anderson Mall.

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