Why Blue Plaid?
On November 4, 2021 Tristan Welsh was killed by Fentanyl poisoning. In response, The Blue Plaid Society was founded to provide awareness, education, and compassion for those interested and/or affected by this epidemic.
Tristan always wore "blue plaid", so in his honor, it is our battle color in the fight to save lives.
Who He Was
Tristan was a handsome, self-taught young man who could converse intelligently on literally any topic. He was a nice guy and had many friends across all walks of life and was a regular at a couple of popular local pubs. He had a job he enjoyed as a manufacturing technician at a print screen company, he loved to cook, grow pepper plants, and he was an only child.
An Introduction to Addiction
Tristan struggled with depression and anxiety starting in his teen years. In 2016, Tristan was 20 years old, and he became reacquainted with a school friend who introduced him to using intravenous heroin. His mother noticed his change in behavior and sensed something was wrong. Following intervention, Tristan was able to recover on his own.
As the years passed, depression and anxiety returned, and Tristan self-medicated with alcohol, cocaine, and unprescribed Xanax to mask these negative feelings. Tristan would often think his life didn’t matter very much, but of course, to his mother, he meant everything.
The Freefall
In the summer of 2021, a series of events occurred in rapid succession that would lead Tristan to again confront addiction. He was brutally assaulted resulting in a traumatic brain injury, his grandmother passed away, he was arrested for slow rolling through a stop sign and having two unprescribed Xanax pills in his pocket, and finally, he lost his job.
Recognizing he was in a freefall, Tristan voluntarily entered rehab. The short time spent in the facility allowed him to detox; however, it was not enough time for his brain injury to heal. With his serotonin levels low, and no compulsion control, Tristan relapsed and returned to active addiction within a couple of weeks.
How He Died
Despite his best efforts to recover, he started hanging out again with people that used. His associations led him back to intravenous drug use, after being clear from it for six years. In what would be his final act, he bought what he thought was heroin from who he believed was a trusted source. It was not. It was a toxic, poisonous mixture of cocaine, meth, and fentanyl.
After an evening spent with the person from which he acquired the drug, he returned home, gave himself a shot, and collapsed on his bedroom floor. His mother came into his room to wake him up for work at 6:30 am, and found her son dead. She called 911, and tried to revive him, but it was too late.
Why It Matters
If Tristan had been sold actual heroin, he would still be alive today. He would have still had to fight addiction, but he would still be here to do so. Fentanyl robs the victim of any chance to survive and recover. Any person using, or considering using a street drug, should assume it is poisoned with Fentanyl and expect to die a sudden death. We encourage you to use Tristan’s story as a warning for yourself and to tell it to your friends. We understand the stigma of addiction, but through transparency, we hope to spread awareness of this deadly substance. You don’t have to be in active addiction to die. The street drug supply is unpredictable and inconsistent. Assume sudden death risk no matter what drug you’re using.
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