LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — Jodi Barber knew that rumors were going to buzz around after her oldest son’s death, but she says she never had plans to keep quiet about it. 

“There was no way I was going to lie or say it was a heart attack or heart issue,” said Barber, a Laguna Niguel resident whose son died of a drug overdose in January, 2010. Barber’s oldest son, Jarrod, was just 19-years-old when his dad found him on the family couch. 

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“He called me downstairs and we tried to wake him up, but we couldn’t. Jarrod was in a drug-induced coma. I called 911 while I watched his dad give him CPR and do mouth to mouth recitation. Some stuff came out of his mouth and I thought he was going to wake up,” said Barber.

Her son didn’t wake up.

To prevent other families from experiencing the same heartache, Barber is determined to share her story to anyone who will listen. 

Barber says her son was using marijuana in his teenage years even though she and her husband tried to stop him. They realize that he was abusing prescription pills until three months before his death. Barber says Jarrod was exposed to prescription pills after he returned home from a dirt biking trip he went on with a close friend. Both boys broke their collarbones. 

“He was taken to the hospital and the nurse called me and said I have your son here,” said Barber. 

She says the nurse gave Jarrod Vicodin and she agreed because she didn’t understand at the time how strong and addictive Vicodin could be. 

Her son passed away in 2010, but the opioid epidemic was already consistently rising.

In 2018, there were 249 people in Orange County who died from opioid overdoses. Compare that number to the more than 2,300 people who have overdosed in the entire state of California.

According to the Department of Public Health, cities along the coastal regions of Orange County like Laguna Niguel where the Barbers live tend to have higher rates of drug and alcohol-related hospitalizations and deaths than other cities.

It’s easy for people to feel like they need to blame parents when their children overdose, but Barber says oftentimes there are things that happen that are out of a parent’s control.

Barber says companies that develop these addictive prescription pills are not forthcoming and transparent about how dangerous they could be. Barber brings up the Sackler family who are known as the inventors of Oxycontin. 

“They, in fact, lied to physicians and I feel they caused this epidemic. The doctors really didn’t know that Oxycontin was so addictive. They had no idea at the time, but the Sackler family, they created this mess and this horrible nightmare of deaths because of the lies that they told physicians,” said Barber.

She says part of the problem are also the pharmacists who partner with greedy doctors who overprescribe medication to make money even though they’ve all sworn to help people. 

“I always say, if I knew then what I know now, maybe Jarrod would be here today. So that’s why I do this. That’s why I want to educate parents so that they know,” said Barber.

She was a speaker at the first California Community Opioid Conference, put on by a Social Model Recovery Systems, Inc., last year, where she shared her family’s story.

This year, Barber is returning to the second annual event held at the Anaheim Convention Center on November 21 and 22 as a guest.

The conference will unite leading addiction-medicine experts, parent and public advocates, and stakeholders who understand the dangers and losses associated with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in order to promote learning, dialogue, and activate communities to address the current opioid crisis.

"Every single person is affected by opioid addiction. Whether it's the devastation of the individual, the trauma to their family, or the cost to communities and taxpayers, we all share the burden and can contribute to the solution," said Bruce Boardman, CEO, Social Model Recovery Systems, Inc. "It will take us working together to remedy this epidemic."

Actor Danny Trejo and Lauri Burns, author and founder of Teen Project, will be among the featured speakers sharing their victory stories over drug addiction. The two-day conference will have Keynote and Plenary Speakers each day, breakout sessions, and an evening event covering topics such as: The Impact of the Opioid Crisis on Family Systems; Human Trafficking; Advocacy for Legislative Change; Adolescent Opioid Use, Abuse, and Treatment; Medication Assisted Treatment; and many others.

Barber has been able to find some comfort after her son’s death through the support of her family, friends and bees. Yes, bees. She surrounds herself with bees as she believes they are messages from her son. She has bee mugs, cups, bee patches on her shoes, a bee necklace and so much more all around her house. 

Many people believe that bees symbolize community, brightness and personal power which are all things she uses to keep her son from dying in vain. 

For more information about the conference, please visit: smrsopioid.org