Juli Shamash is getting national attention for an issue she wishes she never had to talk about. Her 19-year-old son survived a drug overdose, and the hospital ran a standard drug screen, but fentanyl wasn’t included. It isn’t part of the routine ER drug panel used in many hospitals across the country.
Her son, Tyler, died the next day.
It wasn’t until five months later, after a toxicology report from the coroner, that his family learned fentanyl was in his system. With no background in policy or legislation, Shamash took her fight to the California State Legislature, and won.
In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Tyler’s Law, requiring hospitals in California to include fentanyl in routine drug screenings for suspected overdoses.
Now, Shamash is pushing for federal legislation to make that standard the law in every emergency room across the country. While she can’t bring her son back, she’s made it her mission to prevent other families from experiencing the same loss.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, she shares her story, the gaps she’s working to close, and how she’s pushing for change.
Learn more about Tyler’s Law here.
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- He Wanted Justice for His Son, So He Became the Investigator
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MEET THE GUEST
Juli Shamash
Juli Shamash is a former elementary school teacher turned national advocate for fentanyl awareness and overdose prevention. After losing her 19-year-old son Tyler to fentanyl poisoning in 2018, she co-founded the Drug Awareness Foundation and played a key role in passing Tyler’s Law in California, requiring hospitals to include fentanyl in standard drug screenings for suspected overdoses. She is now pushing for federal legislation to make that standard the law in every emergency room across the country, and the bill has already passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
