♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, hidden epidemic. terrifying and deadly. >> sir, has she used narcotics? >> the deadliest drug in america right now, fentanyl, decimating families. >> these kids are dying from one bad decision. >> one teen's near-death experience. >> i'm trying to have the mindset that i'm here, and i was a lucky one, and i've got to make it worth it. >> what her recovery looks like today. plus the multi-talented taylor momsen. from teen star and gossip girl to rock star with hits like "heaven knows." ♪ heaven knows we belong way down below ♪ >> i fell into a very, very

dark, deep hole of depression. >> how she overcame her struggles. >> there is light at the end of the actunnel, it does get bette liz cheney, reflecting on her loss and her future and former president trump's hold on the republican party. >> i think it tells you large portions of our party, including the leadership of our party, is very sick. it's time for the biggest sale of the year, on the sleep number 360 smart bed. snoring? it can gently raise your partner's head to help.

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. america has long been in the grips of a drug epidemic. but now the head of the dea says fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the nation has ever faced. tonight, the harrowing story of a colorado teenager and her journey to recovery. here's abc's kayna whitworth. we warn you, some of this report is graphic and disturbing. >> what is the address of your emergency? >> [ bleep ]. my daughter's unconscious. >> reporter: it's the sound of sheer panic. >> how old is she? >> 16. sofia! she's on her back, please hurry. >> i've got them on the way. >> reporter: a quiet afternoon near boulder, colorado, when ryan christoph finds his then 16-year-old daughter sofia not breathing, lips turning blue. >> i'm push is on her chest and it's making some noise but she's

unconscious. >> is she flat on her back? >> on her back, on her bed. >> listen carefully, i'm going to tell you how to do chest compressions. >> reporter: within minutes, sergeant david cohen with the lafayette, colorado, police department pulls up. >> i'm going to count with you, try and go with the counting, okay? keep up with that pace if you can, okay? >> hold on, i think they might be -- up here, up here! >> reporter: cohen sprinting up the stairs and into sofia's bedroom. >> what is her name? >> sofia. let me take over cpr. does she use narcotics? >> reporter: he doesn't think so. he only knows of her smoking a little weed. but officer cohen's experience told him otherwise. >> slight pulse, narcan administered. >> reporter: as the approaching ambulance gets closer, the narcan kicks in. >> she's breathing, yes, sir. >> reporter: sofia had taken a percocet that came from a drug

dealer, not knowing it was laced with fentanyl. >> a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain that is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin. >> i'm bored in my room. and i notice, you know, i have half this pill. why not? like, it will make me cheer up. i crushed it up, took a line, felt kind of sparkly for two seconds, and i woke up in the hospital. >> where do you think you would be now, had you not overdosed? >> i think i could have been in a worse spiral. or, as far as i know, i could have been dead. i could have been struggling. but i think that i'm grateful for it. >> reporter: from coast to coast, in every corner of the u.s., deaths from fentanyl overdoses are soaring. more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in a 12-month period ending in december of 2021.

recent cdc data revealing over two-thirds of those deaths are linked to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and synthetic opioid-related deaths are up 23% from the previous year. >> there's no question in my mind that the vast majority of chemicals are coming from china and going to mexico and being mass produced into fentanyl, into methamphetamine, and increasingly, into the counterfeit pills we see on our streets. >> reporter: fentanyl is sometimes mixed in other illicit drugs. heroin, meth, cocaine. it's a cheap, higher high, but also can be a lethal combination. >> a tense scene, multiple spring breakers overdosing. >> when i found out that he was doing fentanyl, every day i didn't know -- you know, if i was going to get that call. >> it's heavy, it's heavy right now. >> reporter: users often have no idea. >> she supposedly had taken a percocet. that percocet was laced with 10 that till.

and that took her life. >> this is an epidemic that's been hidden by the pandemic. and we need more attention paid to this issue. >> reporter: after everything sofia christoph and her dad have been through, playing softball together is familiar and comfortable. >> she loves going to games. she loves playing. i do too. it's good. it's really grateful we've been able to have that to bond over and spend time together. >> reporter: through her sophomore year, sofia was hiding a secret. what did your dad know about what was going on? >> he knew i was smoking weed sometimes. >> so he had no idea? >> i think that's -- part of that is because it all happened so fast. >> reporter: in the span of just one year, she started experimenting with a long list of drugs. she was suspended from school and her grades fell. >> cocaine. xanax. ketamine once. acid. mushrooms.

adderall. pills. just like, everything i could get my hands on. >> i felt stupid. that i should have known. especially with my own history. it's not like i think, oh, she's terrible because she did those things. or, my girl would never do that. i just didn't think she was doing that. >> these are all the plugs i bought from. >> reporter: she says buying drugs is as easy as sending the right emoji to a so-called "plug," a deal history finds customers on apps such as snapchat. >> i'm looking for a fire emoji, whatever emoji the normal dealers i have -- they're like, yo, hit my line for gas. then you're like, yo, you got -- whatever? slang terms for whatever. >> it can happen that fast, just by communicating on snapchat? >> yeah, uh-huh. >> searching with the right

em emoji? >> if you know where to go, it's really easy. >> reporter: a terrifying new playbook for drug dealing. now so common, the u.s. drug enforcement agency releasing this cheat sheet for parents and guardians showing the emojis commonly used to buy drugs on social media. >> i cannot emphasize enough how deadly this drug is to human life, especially to unsuspecting youth in our community. these pills are widely available and are often sold for dollars apiece on social media. >> reporter: and pictures showcasing how counterfeit pills they've seized from drug dealers look eerily similar to the real medications doctors prescribe. snapchat issuing a statement detailing their efforts to flush out drug-related content and announcing steps to curb illegal activity, saying they have zero-tolerance for the promoting of illegal drugs on their platform. 20 miles south of lafayette, denver, colorado, police chief paul payson feels like he's at war. >> i get daily reports of

suspected individuals who have passed away as a result of fentanyl overdoses. >> every day you're hearing of deaths? >> that's somebody's family that has just been devastated by fentanyl. we have a situation where a father lost two sons on the exact same day from a fentanyl overdose. >> what are you seeing as the biggest problem when it comes to the actual ingestion of fentanyl? >> folks think this might be something else that they're ingesting. so bringing awareness to this issue, that that pill may not be percocet, that pill may not be xanax, that pill may contain fentanyl and potentially could be deadly, is critical. it's so cheap, so easy to move, so addictive for the end user. we are going to need everybody coming together as a country, as a state. federal, state, local law enforcement. this is likely to be the

challenge of our law enforcement careers. >> reporter: colorado passing a law in may to enact stiffer criminal penalties on those involved with the sale and distribution of fentanyl. is there an end in sight? >> i'm not seeing that end. i'm seeing this issue getting worse. i'm seeing more and more people dying as a result of this issue. we need to do something about this immediately. >> reporter: officers like sergeant david cohen are on the front lines day after day. and this time he saved sofia from becoming yet another statistic. when did it become clear to you that it was an overdose? >> i mean, i don't know if it ever became clear to me until i administered narcan and it worked. between training and experience and being able to look around the room and seeing miscellaneous drug paraphernalia that goes a little bit above and beyond normal marijuana and alcohol use.

>> and so because of that, you knew to administer the narcan? >> yes, ma'am. if it's not needed and you use it, it's going to do no harm. >> right. >> if it's needed and you use it, it's only going to do good. bad decision. and it almost happened to her. it's a hard time to be a parent of a teenager, even harder to be a teenager. >> that's been a very big part. like, the guilt that comes with -- like i see firsthand the effects it had on everybody. being here thinking like, all these kids are out here overdosing and never coming back. and i'm the one that came back. like, why me? so i'm just trying to have the mindset that i'm here, and i was a lucky one, and i've got to make it worth it. >> this is what's in the box, two of these. >> reporter: father ryan now on a mission to educate teens and parents on the dangers of dabbling in drug use. if someone were to watch this

video, what do you want them to know, what do you want them to take away from it? >> first of all, i want them to know more about sofia than just this video. that's a moment in her life, but that's not who she is. i would want people to see that it can happen to even someone like sofia, even their daughter, even their son, even people you'd think was the least likely it happen to. it can happen. >> reporter: sofia, now full of life again, showing off her magnetic smile on her first day as a high school senior. >> it's been about a

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no matter what, yeah. i love you, man. i love you too. ♪ taylor momsen, the former teen star turned rock star, is breaking her silence, speaking candidly about her battle with depression and how she found healing. here's another look with abc's phil lipof. >> reporter: on a stage in toledo, ohio, taylor momsen is back at it in more ways than one. just nine shows into the band's first tour in five years, it's like no time has passed. but ask taylor and she'll tell you she's lived a lifetime in five years. tremendous success coupled with

deep, painful depression. now 29, taylor began her life in front of the camera shortly after she began to walk. >> my mom's a good cook. this is how you make shake n' bake. >> a modeling agent said, she should go on audition, she's very chatty. >> reporter: her break at the age of 5. ♪ where are you christmas ♪ >> reporter: adorable cindy lou who in "how the grinch stole christmas." years later a bigger break, landing the role of jenny humphrey on the cw teen drama "gossip girl." just a teen herself at the time, fame came fast and wasn't always fun. >> i was getting photographed as my character and being put in the tabloids as taylor momsen's wearing this, doing this. i got frustrated with that. >> reporter: so when she was old enough, taylor took control of her life and went from teen star to teen rock star. no more acting.

♪ ♪ every time i look inside your eyes you make me want to die ♪ >> reporter: debut album "light me up" a bit jarring for some who knew her as a child actress. ♪ does what i'm wearing seem to shock you that's okay ♪ >> the songs last forever. that's what i put my heart and soul into and slaved over. and no one's even mentioning that. >> reporter: taylor and longtime writing partner guitarist ben phillips continued to write. the band's sophomore album was a hit. the song "heaven knows" went platinum. ♪ oh heaven knows we belong way down below ♪ >> reporter: 2016 releasing "who you selling for" with hits like "take me down." ♪ don't care what happens when i die as long as i'm alive ♪ >> reporter: death a common theme through much of her music. it was death that stopped the

rock powerhouse in her tracks. ♪ black hole sun won't you come ♪ >> reporter: on tour with soundgarden, at the peak of her career -- >> rocker chris cornell died last night while on tour in detroit. >> reporter: cornell, a rock idol for taylor, found in his hotel room, death by suicide. >> i wasn't prepared for it. like, i didn't know how to kind of -- mentally wrap my mind around it. >> reporter: soon after, the band would cancel the rest of the tour. time off needed to grieve and regroup. >> i was starting to write some songs. i called cato. i said, hey, man, i have some stuff, i don't know if it's for a record or what, but we all need to get out of this funk. >> reporter: taylor calls cato cadwaller her best friend, her family, her musical soul mate. 11 months after cornell died, just as they got back into the studio, cato was killed in a motorcycle crash. >> i fell into a very, very

dark, deep hole of depression. >> you had thoughts, at that point, why bother living? >> why bother trying? everything i love is dead, what's the point? >> reporter: slowly she began putting much of what she was feeling into her latest album "death by rock 'n' roll." ♪ death by rock 'n' roll ♪ >> reporter: writing with phillips as she's done for 15 years. >> i would go so far as to say it might be our best accomplishment to date. >> it is. it's much like the first record. >> it is. it's very inspired. >> very inspired. >> reporter: inspiration so desperately needed. the irony, taylor says, "death by rock 'n' roll" might have saved her life. >> i think anyone who's struggled with depression or substance abuse or both can attest that when you're in it, it seems like this inescapable place. >> how would you tell someone to begin to live again? >> oh, man. that's a big question.

it's never going to go away. it changes you as a person. but what it will do is it will turn into a scar. and it will heal. >> reporter: that healing for taylor continues. 12 years after her first album, her love of music and performing is as strong as ever. coming full circle. writing about love now for a song two members of soundgarden helped record. ♪ only love love love ♪ ♪ can save me now ♪ >> reporter: if you or anyone you know is struggling like taylor has, it is so important to hear her say this. after she describes going to hell and back. >> and there is light at the end of the tunnel. it does get better. just wait it out. baby steps, and you will get to the other side. that's a wonderful thing. >> our thanks to phil. up next, one on one with liz cheney.

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♪ finally tonight, congresswoman liz cheney is one of the most prominent republicans in the country. now she is about to be out of a job. she and jonathan karl sit down in the january 6th hearing room for an exclusive interview. what does your defeat say about trump's hold on the republican party? >> well, it says, i think, that clearly his hold is very strong amongst some portions of the republican party. you know, my state of wyoming is not necessarily a representative sort of sample --

>> it's the most republican, most pro-trump state in the union. >> right, exactly. i think it says a couple of things. one, it says that people continue to believe the lie. they continue to believe what he's saying, which is very dangerous. i think it also tells you that large portions of our party, including the leadership of our party, is very sick. >> you can watch more of jonathan karl's interview with cheney this sunday on "this week." that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time monday. have a