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Opioid crisis gripping US takes lives of childhood friends on same day, just streets apart

Two childhood friends have died on the same day from opioid use as the drug crisis continues to sweep the US.

A community in Lawrenceville, Georgia are mourning the deaths of Dustin Manning, 19, and Joseph Abraham, 18, who both died on Friday, May 26 after battling drug addiction, CNN reports.

The pair were childhood friends and played on the same baseball team coached by Joseph’s father but drifted apart over the years. They lived only a few blocks away from each other.

It appears the teens may have purchased the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which killed them, from the same dealer. According to police records the pill wrappings are almost identical.

Dustin and Joseph. Source: Supplied
Dustin and Joseph. Source: Supplied

Dustin’s parents said their boy had been struggling with depression since he was 12 and started drinking beer and taking drugs because it “gave him ‘the out’ and made him feel good”.

His mum Lisa took a job at a treatment centre to better understand her son’s addiction but nothing worked.

Mrs Manning told Georgia Health News, Dustin returned a clean drug test the night before his overdose.

Joseph began to dabble with drugs around the same age as Dustin, but his parents believe he started taking opioids after having his wisdom teeth removed.

Dustin with his mother Kathi. Source: Supplied
Dustin with his mother Kathi. Source: Supplied

He also took prescription drugs after breaking an ankle and then later a hand while playing sports.

Joseph was released from jail two weeks before his overose.

Similar to his childhood friend, Joseph also had his demons.

"He lost two of his really good friends in eighth grade - one to cancer and one to a drowning. He really had a hard time. He struggled with that," his mum Kathi said.

Dustin (bottom row) and Joseph (top row) both played on the same baseball team as kids. Source: Supplied
Dustin (bottom row) and Joseph (top row) both played on the same baseball team as kids. Source: Supplied

Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, was devised to treat chronic pain but a tiny amount can be fatal. It’s also been engineered as a recreational drug since the 1970s.

Dustin’s father Greg said the amount of fentanyl found in his son’s body was “the equivalent to three grains of salt”.

The parents of the two boys have since become united amidst the tragedy of losing their boys, calling for harsher punishment for drug dealers.

President Trump has declared opioid addiction a public health emergency, but has not allocated any extra funding.

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Lisa and Joseph Abraham. Source: Supplied
Lisa and Joseph Abraham. Source: Supplied

Dave Abraham, Joseph’s father, said anyone who sells fentanyl should be given a life sentence, and believes the problem with addiction is treatment isn’t working.

"The problem with treatment right now is there is a very low percentage of success. The longer they stay in treatment, that success rate goes up," Mr Abraham said.

He compared the drug to “poison or murder”.

In 2016, 64,000 Americans died from opioid usage – more than the number killed by guns and in car accidents combined.