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It takes village to combat kids’ fentanyl use

The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash. (TNS)

In fighting the scourge of fentanyl, warnings are inadequate. Knowledge is necessary for parents to understand the danger posed by the relatively new synthetic drug.

Because of that, Evergreen Public Schools and Vancouver Public Schools are holding informational forums to discuss a drug that has infected local schools. In conjunction with local law enforcement, presentations will be made at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at Fort Vancouver High School and 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Evergreen High School. Russian-language and Spanish-language sessions also will be conducted.

The need is evident. In May, a 16-year-old student at Hudson’s Bay High School overdosed in a bathroom at the school and died six days later. KGW-TV reported in December: “A district resource officer wrote in a report that they found burnt tin foil and blue pills, likely fentanyl, on the girl’s clothes.”

District officials reported the girl’s death to the school community, but omitted any mention of fentanyl. “We’re trying to balance … the desire of an entire community to understand what’s happening versus the desire of a family that’s (been) through something horrible,” Superintendent Jeff Snell told the television station.

That is understandable. But it also is important that the public develop an understanding of the prevalence and threat of fentanyl. Nationally, teen overdose deaths have more than doubled in the past three years, and a majority of those are attributed to fentanyl.

As the Evergreen Public Schools website states: “Fentanyl has been called ‘the deadliest drug threat facing this country’ by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This cheap, synthetic drug is especially dangerous to young people and is taking a deadly toll not only nationally, but here in Clark County.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Adding to the crisis is the fact that it is easily mixed with other drugs.

In 2021, Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County’s health officer and public health director, said: “Anyone who uses powdered drugs or takes pills that were not given to them by a pharmacy should assume they contain fentanyl.

Opinion

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2023-02-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-02-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://ktimes.pressreader.com/article/281947431996923

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