Donna Watson’s son Troy became addicted to pain pills after he was run over by a car in high school. His addiction became a decade long battle that eventually took his life. Donna is now an advocate for the opiate crisis, and she warns thousands about how her son died. For starters, she says he was clean and sober when he was coerced to be a drug informant for law enforcement. This job put him back on a path of drug addiction that eventually led to his death when he took a pill that was supposed to be oxytocin, but ended up being the deadly drug fentanyl. Donna warns about the dangers of fentanyl and talks about the importance of having Narcan - an opioid reversal medication - on hand for an emergency.

TAKEAWAYS

Donna’s “Troy Bill,” would provide strong guidelines for law enforcement who want to utilize informants with a history of addiction

Donna has taken her case against the agencies who used her son as an informant to federal court - it is currently being litigated

Read Donna’s book about Troy’s life: You’re Not the Boss of Me, God Is

Troy tested dirty for drugs within two weeks of becoming an informant but police kept him in this dangerous position, instead of releasing him