Troubling trend of heroin, fentanyl overdose deaths in EBR Parish causes concern

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - There’s a troubling trend in East Baton Rouge Parish tied to a recent string of overdose deaths.

The East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office reports at least 15 people have died from an overdose within the past two weeks. At least four occurred Wednesday, Oct. 6.

District Attorney Hillar Moore believes each one was either heroin or fentanyl-related.

“The numbers are just heartbreaking,” Moore said.

Travis Weisbrod, a Baton Rouge resident, knows firsthand the damage drugs can do to someone.

“I really wasn’t introduced to substances until I was 17 or 18,” Weisbrod said.

It started with just drinking and smoking marijuana, but after that, his addiction grew.

“At that point, I started to experiment with some heavier drugs. Cocaine, hallucinogens, and then I was when I found opioids that it became an everyday kind of problem,” Weisbrod said.

Before Weisbrod knew it, he found himself without a job, getting arrested, and living inside his car.

“It took to that point that I said, I need help,” Weisbrod said.

Weisbrod checked himself into the St. Christopher’s Addiction Wellness Center in an attempt to turn his life around.

However, the story doesn’t stop there.

It wasn’t long after that his younger brother, Cody, got hooked on the same drugs.

They both entered rehab, and as of today, they’re both 10 years sober.

“I had to see other people my age who are like me. I had to see them recover from this disease to believe that it worked,” Weisbrod said.

Weisbrod’s story is why the District Attorney is fighting to clean up the streets and lock up anyone that’s caught dealing these drugs.

“We have to take action against this, and there’s only one place for someone who deals ‘death’ and that’s in prison,” Moore said.

Weisbrod is now an LSU graduate, married, and back helping people at the same clinic that saved his life.

This is his advice to anyone struggling with addiction that wants to seek help.

“Ask someone that’s in recovery, or someone who has gone through the process of getting sober, what’s that like for them, what life is like now, and how it was before. That’s what I needed to hear, that people were as bad off as me and got better,” Weisbrod said.

A big reason why Weisbrod says you should never give up hope.

“To watch them regain those things is easily the most rewarding part of my job, and easily the most rewarding part of my life,” Weisbrod said.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year hotline. That number is 1-800-487-4889.

For a list of local resources, click here.

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