The Wall Street Journal reports that parents are so alarmed by the soaring rate of overdose deaths among young people, that they are changing the way they speak to their kids about drugs, especially the synthetic opioid fontanel that is fueling the spike in fatalities. With two-thirds of overdose deaths linked to such synthetic opioids, parents are more worried than ever that their children will get hold of tainted drugs, which are made to look like prescriptions medications such as Xanax and Percocet that young people are very familiar with, but don’t know are laced with deadly fentanyl. The drugs can be ordered easily on social media and delivered to your house like a pizza, making detection difficult. Now, parents are pressing their schools, doctors, coaches, and dance instructors to help warn and educate kids about the danger. They also want peer-to-peer student programs that would train volunteers to inform, counsel, and possibly administer overdose reversal medications. Because fentanyl is so powerful, parents are imploring kids to play it safe, and not assume a pill someone gave you came from a pharmacy and is the real thing. The role of parents is critical to preventing drug use, but we also need a government-led, national campaign to increase awareness about the current wave of opioid-related risks.
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Rosenthal Center for AddictIon Studies