Parents Are Vital Partners With Public Schools Battling Opioids
Contributed by Michael Carson
The Mat-Su Opioid Task Force believes parents are vital partners in providing their children with the most current and accurate information regarding opioid misuse, especially with the troubling trends of fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. In fact, fentanyl has contaminated heroin, cocaine and meth. Also, it is in counterfeit pills like Percocet, Xanax, Oxycontin and even Adderall.
In addition, the D.E.A. ( Drug Enforcement Administration) has now alerted the public that 6 out of ten counterfeit pills contain a potentially lethal dose. And, it only takes 2 mg of fentanyl to be a lethal poison. ONE PILL CAN KILL! ( D.E.A. )
In short, the only safe drugs come directly from a physician or licensed pharmacist. In our conversations with youth, I am not suggesting using a catchy slogan, ( DARE ) a one-liner, ( just say, NO ) or using scare tactics. ( Reefer Madness )
Parents have to become well informed with the facts to have those honest and important conversations with their children. One gram of fentanyl, the size of an artificial sweetener packet can kill 500 people.
Next, the Mat-Su Opioid Task Force believes all our public schools can be an insurance policy to provide all middle and high school students with facts and data regarding opioids to make life-saving choices. I believe we want all our youth to be safe, healthy and thriving.
If you believe we need that insurance policy for drug prevention and education, I suggest you contact your Alaskan Legislators to support HB6: Opioid Awareness in Public Schools. Unfortunately, Alaska Health Curriculum has not been reviewed or revised since 2017 with no standards addressing opioids, much less fentanyl. And, that is true for any teacher resources with no current information and/or explaining the dangers of fentanyl. There needs to be opioid awareness for our youth as soon as possible.
It is opioid roulette that can be a nightmare alley with a dead end for families, loved ones and friends. The stakes are too high. It is not a carnival game and we can not be naive or leave our youth unprepared. I am convinced we have to move upstream with primary drug prevention and education to cut off the flow into the river of addiction.
Alaska had the ‘largest’ jump nationally for drug overdoses and the majority of those overdoses/poisonings were due to fentanyl. And, the Alaska Law Enforcement annual report, stated last year 26.85 ( 59 lbs. ) kilos of fentanyl was seized and that equates to 13 million fatal overdoses. Also, three weeks ago, a drug bust took place at the Juneau Airport with the seizure of 5,000 counterfeit Oxycodone pills at a street value of $150,000.
There is no doubt, fentanyl is widespread across the state, in the form of ‘rainbow fentanyl,’ ( candy like ) counterfeit pills and in every street drug out there. Parents and public schools can partner to ensure youth know how opioids ‘hack and whack the brain.’ Opioid misuse can lead to tolerance, dependence, and addiction, with dire consequences.
Consider this description… ‘ With the bombardment of opioid misuse, it would be like driving a car with one foot on the accelerator and the other foot on the brake at the same time. You are lurching forward, unsteadily and uncontrollable, burning up your brakes, just spinning your wheels and potentially, ending up in the ditch. And, that ditch could be a fatal overdose or poisoning.’
Finally, parents, youth and public school teachers need a menu and/or toolbox of resources that includes facts, data and definitions for opioid awareness all across Alaska.
Thank you for considering supporting HB6: Opioid Awareness in Public School.