A grain of salt – the amount of fentanyl it takes to end a life.
The new reality of the lethal drug that is on the streets has changed since Joe Calendino, a former full patch member of the Hells Angels, was involved in the gang world, but he stresses the importance of choices.
Admittedly the choices he made in his earlier life took him down a dark path, but he now draws from those experiences to mentor youth and educate them on how the choices they make now can shape their lives.
Calendino spoke in assemblies to both Vernon Secondary School and Kalamalka Secondary on Wednesday and sat down with the Okanagan Student Voice for a more in-depth talk at Kal.
“I’m glad to be here with the student voices because at the end of the day it’s your voices…that take this message,” said Calendino.
He stresses that with drugs now there is no ‘safe’ amount and no second chances, when all it takes is a grain of fentanyl to kill a person.
“Nobody thinks it’s going to be them, but fentanyl is a whole different beast and I don’t even know how we got here,” said Calendino. “How we got to a place where our kids take it upon themselves to take a drug that would be no different than taking a gun, putting four bullets in the chamber, rolling it and putting the gun to your head.”
