“Fentanyl is Forever”
One of the leading causes of death in teenagers today is attributed to overdoses— more recently, fentanyl. In a study done by UCLA, they found that the death rate for teenagers relating to overdoses was “5.2 per 100,000– driven by fentanyl in counterfeit pills.” Halpern-Felsher, a developmental psychologist and professor of pediatrics at Stanford Medicine said, “To help teens make good decisions, it’s important to give them information about how each substance affects their bodies, their brains, and their development,” It is for these reasons, we at Annenberg Youth Academy feel it is our civic duty and responsibility to warn our peer through this Public Service Announcement.
Fentanyl is a man-made opioid. Originally, it was prescribed by medical professionals and used to alleviate pain. However, since fentanyl is cheap to produce, people illegally manufacture and sell, abusing the drug. In our video, we aimed to enlighten our audience about the ways that fentanyl affects our youth. To begin with, we focused on how the spread of fentanyl has been easier than ever through various social media platforms. On platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, teens often buy prescription pills or other types of substances not knowing what it truly contains. This leads to sudden deaths, especially as fentanyl the size of salt is enough to kill the average adult (Health Canada, 2019).
Following, we highlighted the medical tool used to reverse the effects of an overdose, known as Narcan. We aimed to leave young people in our society with the knowledge to save another individual’s life through two steps. If you or someone you know has an addiction, and want more information about the risk of fentanyl please call 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you are concerned you may be at risk of ingesting fentanyl, you can purchase fentanyl test strips accessible on Amazon. We can increase fentanyl prevention by spreading awareness. Keep the conversation going and be hyper-aware of what you are consuming. If fentanyl overdose is prevalent in your institutions, bring this issue to your school board or higher-ups. Regulations and laws such as Melanie’s Law are key ways we can prevent the augmentation of the opioid crisis among the youth.
Fentanyl is forever. Let’s do our part in ending this crisis– together.
Fight on!
Zoe Pham, Darcy Fukunaga, Allison Chavez, Giselle Smith and Amaris Yang
For more information regarding Fentanyl:
Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeX1VU9JaV4
Communicating Change 