Fentanyl is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, June 14, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- As fatal drug overdoses continue to rise each year, so do concerns and questions about what we can do to reverse this alarming trend that began a decade ago. The Foundation for a Drug-Free World offers answers in the form of information kits and educator packages for teachers, school administrators, mentors, school counselors, law enforcement officers and juvenile correctional officers. Correct facts and knowledge are the first step to prevention.

In addition to providing materials and educational packages, the foundation gets involved by delivering lectures and briefings and setting up booths in local towns and communities. This week alone, Foundation for a Drug-Free World Faith Liaison Thalia Ghiglia has given lectures to 800 youth in the DC area and is delivering lectures weekly to kids, adults, seniors, and groups interested in the problem and how to get friends and relatives free from addiction. These lectures have had a strong focus on opioid and fentanyl awareness and overdose prevention.

To put into focus the harmful impact opioids are having on our society, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. According to the Center for Disease Control, "[Fentanyl] is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S.” and, “most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdose are linked to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It is often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous.”

Because of its strength, just a tiny amount of fentanyl unknown to the consumer laced in a pill, powder, or other drug bought on the street or online and ingested can kill. Many adolescents have turned to stimulant type drugs such as Adderall to help stay awake for studying. Others smoke marijuana or take ecstasy for a release. The past ten years have shown such a sharp increase in drug overdose fatalities because that is when fentanyl started to take hold in the U.S. Now, it's safe to say that taking drugs recreationally or buying stimulant type pills off the street is a fatal risk and should be avoided completely.

Fentanyl affects all ages and is something that can be avoided. Ms. Ghiglia explained: “If we teach kids when they are young, then they have a better chance of avoiding harmful drugs altogether. For those who weren't informed there were harsher consequences.”

The Hill newspaper reported, “Between 2010 and 2021, the number of adolescent deaths from black-market fentanyl and related synthetics rose more than twenty-fold, from 38 to 884, according to a 2022 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.” And “Largely because of fentanyl, the number of U.S. drug overdose deaths doubled in six years, from 52,404 in 2015 to 106,699 in 2021.”

Advocates say this is why we all need to get involved and disseminate the facts so that kids especially can make well-informed decisions. In a lecture to youth given this past week, Ms. Ghiglia went over what fentanyl and opioids are, how small a lethal dose of fentanyl actually is (only 2mg), how opium is illegally used to create similar drugs such as heroin and morphine, and how large quantities of fentanyl are being illegally imported into the US through party drugs which kids and teens commonly get offered through peer pressure.

The Truth About Drugs Education Package is available at no charge to teachers, school administrators, mentors, school counselors, law enforcement officers and juvenile correctional officers—anyone in a position to educate youth groups and classes on the subject of substance abuse.

The core of the foundation’s education program consists of the one hour and 42 minute documentary, The Truth About Drugs: Real People—Real Stories, which can be viewed online at the Foundation’s website www.drugfreeworld.org.

The documentary is supplemented by 14 drug information booklets and award-winning public service announcements. More than 55 million Truth About Drugs educational handouts have been distributed in over 180 countries and in 20 languages.

The free Truth About Drugs Education Package is the ideal supplemental aid. It fills the growing demand for practical tools to help the teacher, instructor or drug prevention specialist communicate the truth about drugs swiftly and effectively. It provides lesson plans, assignments and classroom activities that capture and retain young people's attention—and elicit their participation. Students read, view and, most importantly, use the information to make the right choices about drugs.

Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free.

Thalia Ghiglia
Foundation for a Drug-Free World
+1 202-667-6404
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