It always saddens me when I read these stories about an innocent person, in this case an 18 month old toddler, losing their life due to the flagrant neglect of someone else.

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I've managed to live through the 60's, 70's 80's and beyond and have seen certain drugs make their rounds and mostly do a whole lot of damage. But, I've never seen any anything like the damage the drug fentanyl has done in the last several years.

50 times more powerful than heroin and being mixed in with other drugs, often without the knowledge of the user. Fentanyl is the most dangerous narcotic to ever arrive on the scene and overdoses are going up every year.

The death of this 18 month old toddler, Joshua Needham Jr, happened in Bemidji, Minnesota in late December. Joshua's mother, 29 year old Lakeisha Chaboyea, was smoking fentanyl laced meth with some friends on night.

According to InForum.com court records stated that Chaboyea and her friends thought the laced meth they were smoking was too strong and Chaboyea disposed of the rest in the trash.

Chaboyea's 18 month old toddler then found the discarded drug days later in the trash and ingested some. After ingesting the drugs the toddler collapsed. Chaboyea then used Narcan to to wake up the toddler and gave him a bath.

It was 5 hours before Chaboyea called 911 to report that her son was unresponsive. Joshua was transported to the hospital by the fire department where blood tests showed the toddler had both fentanyl and meth in his system.

Unfortunately, Joshua passed away in a Fargo hospital on January 4th. No word on any charges that may be brought against Chaboyea.

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