Wheatland Union High School continues fentanyl education

Oct. 12—Wheatland Union High School held its first round of fentanyl education presentations for students on Thursday, continuing efforts to raise awareness of the deadly drug.

The Yuba County Office of Education recently contracted with Sacramento-based nonprofit Arrive Alive California to educate community members on opioid overdoses and poisonings. The nonprofit will deliver fentanyl education presentations to schools throughout Yuba County over the next few months.

Wheatland Union High School hosted a similar fentanyl awareness event on Sept. 28 for parents and community members. While each Arrive Alive presentation conveys the same overall information, these school workshops are geared toward students at their level, CEO Angela Webb said.

"Each presentation is tailored to the school, the area and age group," Webb said. "Some groups may get different videos, or our sixth graders get more of a call-back style of presentation, but it's the same message of prevention, education and awareness."

Several local agencies participated in the presentation to discuss the physical, legal and emotional ramifications fentanyl overdoses and poisonings can have on a community.

"Every time you take an illicit pill, you are playing Russian Roulette with your life," Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry said.

According to the California Department of Public Health, California saw nearly 6,000 opioid-related deaths in 2021, the vast majority of which were due to fentanyl overdoses.

Traces of fentanyl have been found in counterfeit prescription drugs with OxyContin, Adderall and Xanax being the most common types of pills replicated and sold on the streets. Fentanyl can be lethal even in small doses if the person taking it has no tolerance for the drug.

Sacramento County Criminalist Kristel Suchland said that fentanyl has also been found in other illicit drugs including methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Fentanyl has also appeared in marijuana and vape pen cartridges sold illegally, but there have been no reports in the greater Sacramento area, Suchland said.

According to Webb, reaching high school and middle school students is paramount when discussing fentanyl because they are within the demographic that is most impacted by overdose deaths. Fentanyl poisonings are increasingly common among high school and college students who believe they're taking one type of drug and unknowingly ingest lethal doses of fentanyl, Webb said.

"This is the whole purpose of why we do this instead of just talking to your parents, or do news, or do radio. We have to get to the kids. ... You guys are the most impacted group with a nearly 5,000% increase in fentanyl related deaths for ages 14 to 18," Webb said.

She attributes this statistic to the fact that teenagers are an increasingly connected demographic and can use social media to obtain illicit or prescription drugs. Webb also believes that young people have been raised in a culture where taking prescription pills are frequently encouraged for most ailments.

"You guys are the most connected and you grew up in a culture — really a society — where there's a pill for everything. In your innocence, as a youth thinking, 'I hurt my back. I need to study. I have anxiety. I have depression.' All of these different things and the stigma create the perfect storm," Webb said.

The presentation also included information about Narcan and signs of overdose. Narcan is available as an over-the-counter nasal spray which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Signs of an opioid overdose include blue or purple lips and fingernails, small pupils, slow or shallow breathing, limp arms and a faint heartbeat, Wheatland Fire Authority Firefighter Kevin Olson said. Adventist Health/Rideout Hospital in Marysville also distributes Narcan for free in its emergency room.

One dose of Narcan can last 30-90 minutes depending on the amount of opioids in a person's system. Multiple doses can be administered, but it's crucial to get someone who is overdosing to an emergency room as soon as possible, even if their condition appears to improve, Olson said.