Authorities in Arizona detained a woman whose 2-year-old child tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Christina Culp reportedly told authorities that she was inadvertently exposed to the illicit substances at their Tucson home while the child’s father was at work. According to Culp, she woke up from her nap to see the child struggling for breath outdoors and his lips turning blue.
On the way to the hospital, first responders gave the child a first dosage of Narcan in an ambulance. Culp was arrested at the hospital.
Fentanyl, Heroin, and prescription opioids are all examples of opioids that this opioid antagonist works to counteract. Overdosing on opioids depresses the respiratory system and central nervous system, but this medication quickly reverses that effect. Reversal effects begin within minutes.
While the toddler, her 5-year-old sister, and their father slept inside the apartment earlier that day, the mother confessed to smoking methamphetamines and fentanyl at about 3 a.m., according to a court filing.
The mother allegedly admitted to having some drugs in her handbag near her cosmetics, but she also claimed to have stashed some in a toolbox outdoors. The child was found wearing cosmetics on her face, according to the court statement, which suggests that she came into contact with the narcotics when she applied her mother’s makeup.
In response to two allegations of child abuse, Culp was taken into custody and released on a $75,000 bail at the Pima County Jail. The state assumed custody of her children.
A similar situation happened recently when Jimmie Luvert (41) and Lisa Keitt (26) of New York were both arrested and accused in May in connection with the demise of their 16-month-old child who was exposed to fentanyl. Another man reportedly sold the parents fentanyl, and the child’s grandmother was charged with consuming crack cocaine in the presence of the child.
