Fentanyl High Screening at LGHS to Raise Awareness on Youth Drug Use
In 2020, two students from Los Gatos High School died of fentanyl poisoning when the pills they thought to be Percocet were laced with the synthetic opioid 50 times as potent as heroin.
Now Los Gatos High School junior Kyle Santoro is on a mission to open the conversation around the dangers of fentanyl and why kids are reaching for drugs in the first place, the Mercury News reports.
Santoro directed a documentary Fentanyl High: The Truth Behind the High School Epidemic, which was screened to a packed house at the LGHS auditorium on May 16.
“This is not just about fentanyl poisoning and taking pills; it’s why kids are considering experimenting with drugs,” Santoro said. “There’s definitely a deeper pain with kids from my generation, which is why we need to talk about this from a peer-to-peer point of view so we can save lives.”
The film featured interviews with students, parents of students who have died of fentanyl poisoning, and local leaders. CASSY Executive Director Marico Sayoc was among those interviewed in the film. She also participated in a panel discussion after the screening.
Amidst the youth mental health crisis, fentanyl poisoning is becoming a crisis of its own.
In 2021, one in five California teen deaths was due to fentanyl. Teens may think they are buying Adderall, OxyContin, Percocet, or Xanax from a stranger but are unaware that their pills are laced with fentanyl, said Santoro.
Because fentanyl is both cheap to manufacture and highly addictive, drug traffickers often mix it into other pills to keep customers coming back. However, it is also deadly; two milligrams can be fatal. The opioid-blocking drug Narcan can prevent fatal overdose when administered quickly.
LGHS Senior Katy Hawk, who is in the film, stresses how important it is to open the conversation about the dangers of drugs, however uncomfortable or awkward it may feel to parents and their kids.
“The fentanyl epidemic across the globe is simply happening due to lack of knowledge,” Hawk said. “The majority of teens being exposed to fentanyl aren’t even aware that it is in the drug they are taking. Education is powerful. It is better to be educated and safe than uncertain and at risk.”
Read the full article here. Or learn more about the documentary Fentanyl High.
Get the facts about the dangers of fentanyl.
Kanik, Hannah. “Los Gatos student directs ‘Fentanyl High’ documentary to raise awareness on youth drug use.” Bay Area News Group, 10 May 2023, https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/05/10/los-gatos-student-directs-fentanyl-high-documentary-to-raise-awareness-on-youth-drug-use/