Wheatland Union High School continued its efforts to raise awareness about the deadly drug Thursday by holding its first fentanyl education presentation for students.
The Yuba County Office of Education recently contracted with Sacramento-based nonprofit organization Alive Alive California to educate community members about opioid overdose and addiction. The nonprofit organization plans to bring fentanyl education presentations to schools across Yuba County over the next several months.
Wheatland Union High School hosted a similar fentanyl awareness event for parents and community members on Sept. 28. While each Alive Alive presentation conveys the same information overall, these school workshops are aimed at students at their own level, CEO Angela Webb said.
“Each presentation is tailored to the school, region and age group,” Webb said. “Some groups may be provided with different videos, and sixth graders may have a callback style presentation, but it’s the same message of prevention, education and awareness.”
Several local agencies participated in presentations to discuss the physical, legal and emotional effects that fentanyl overdose and addiction can have on the community.
“Every time you take an illegal drug, you are playing Russian roulette with your life,” said Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry.
According to the California Department of Public Health, there were nearly 6,000 opioid-related deaths in California in 2021, the majority of which were due to fentanyl overdose.
Traces of fentanyl have been detected in counterfeit prescription drugs, and the most common types of pills copied and sold on the streets are OxyContin, Adderall, and Xanax. Fentanyl can be deadly even in small doses if the person taking it is intolerant to the drug.
Sacramento County Detective Christel Thatchland said fentanyl is also found in other illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Fentanyl was also found in illegally sold marijuana and vape pen cartridges, Thatchland said, but there have been no reports in the greater Sacramento area.
Webb said reaching high school and middle school students is paramount when discussing fentanyl because they are among the groups most vulnerable to overdose deaths. Webb said fentanyl poisoning is becoming increasingly common among high school and college students who unknowingly ingest lethal doses of fentanyl because they believe they are taking a type of drug.
“This is the whole purpose of why we do this, instead of just talking to the parents or doing the news or the radio. We have to go to the kids. …Everyone. “We have seen a nearly 5,000% increase in fentanyl-related deaths among 14- to 18-year-olds, the most affected group,” Webb said.
She believes this statistic is due to the fact that teens are increasingly connected and can use social media to obtain illegal and prescription drugs. Webb also believes that young people have grown up in a culture where they are frequently encouraged to take prescription drugs for most illnesses.
“You guys grew up in a culture, actually a society, where you’re the most connected and there’s a medicine to fix everything. As a young man, in my innocence, I thought, ‘I broke my back.’ I need to study. I have anxiety. I have depression. ’ All these different things and the stigma create a perfect storm,” Webb said.
The presentation also included information about Narcan and the signs of overdose. Narcan is available as an over-the-counter nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Signs of an opioid overdose include blue or purple lips or fingernails, small pupils, slow or shallow breathing, limp arms, and a faint heartbeat, said Kevin Olson, a firefighter with the Wheatland Fire Department. That’s what it means. Adventist Health/Rideout Hospital in Marysville is also distributing Narcan for free in its emergency room.
One dose of Narcan lasts between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on the amount of opioids in a person’s body. Multiple doses can be given, but it’s important to get people who have overdosed to the emergency room as soon as possible, even if their condition appears to be improving, Olson said.