Essex County mother turns tragedy into mission to warn teens about Kratom dangers
Her commitment to addiction prevention became even more urgent after the death of her daughter, Josephine, who died from an opioid overdose more than three years ago.
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An Essex County woman who lost her daughter to an opioid overdose is sharing her story in hopes of preventing other families from experiencing the same heartbreak.
Lisa Centeno has spent decades helping people recover from addiction, and, for her, the work is deeply personal.
"I actually have 22 years in recovery," said Centeno, an executive senior vice president at CarePlusNJ.
Her commitment to addiction prevention became even more urgent after the death of her daughter, Josephine, who died from an opioid overdose more than three years ago.
"I think unfortunately she knows her life couldn't be saved, but everything we do is to save other people's lives," said Centeno. "I think that makes her smile down on us."
Centeno said her mission now is to make sure Josephine's death was not in vain. Her work at CarePlusNJ involves addiction education aimed at children and teens before they're exposed to drugs.
"I would say elementary school, middle school," she said. "They have to understand what choices can mean and how that can result in something as scary as death."
Centeno said prevention is especially important with so many new drugs on the market, including kratom.
"Kratom is a huge, huge problem right now," she said. "It comes from Southeast Asia and it's basically a plant, and it has psychoactive components to it."
Earlier this month, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General designated three synthetic forms of kratom as Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS). However, natural kratom remains legal and can still be purchased in many stores.
Some have nicknamed the substance "gas station heroin" because of how widely available it can be.
"The access to these types of drugs...you can walk in pretty much anywhere," said Centeno. "You stop at a gas station, smoke shops are around every corner."
Kratom products are sold in a variety of forms, including powders, tablets and concentrated shots. Centeno said her primary concern is that new synthetic compounds continue to emerge even as regulators move to ban others.
"As soon as that happens, it's unfortunate because somebody else in a lab in someone else's basement makes something and puts that chemical to it, and it becomes just as deadly as it was before," she said. "Everything is laced."
Despite her family's loss, Centeno said she remains focused on helping others and honoring her daughter's memory.
