SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — More than 63,000 students in Sacramento County were contacted during fentanyl-awareness campaigns over the last two years to prevent drug use and overdoses. Over 9,000 of those students were in middle school.
From July 1, 2022, until Thursday, Arrive Alive California Inc. (AAC), a nonprofit promoting alcohol, drug use and mental health education, gave fentanyl awareness presentations to 9,332 students across 25 middle schools in Sacramento County, according to Michelle Lewis, an AAC spokeswoman.
AAC partnered with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office to start the “Future Focused: Fentanyl Education and Awareness Campaign” on July 1, 2022, in response to an increase in fentanyl-related deaths among the 14-18 age group from 2015-2022, Lewis said.
Seventeen teenagers between 14-18 years old have died by fentanyl in the county since 2022, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
“We can’t afford to wait until high school to educate our youth,” Lewis said. “Our student pre-assembly survey results show that 82.33% of middle school students either don’t know or don’t think our community has a fentanyl problem, and 29.3% believe it’s safe to take prescription medication not prescribed by their doctor.”
Prevention education is presented by AAC in multiple formats including assemblies, class instructions, clubs, youth groups, parent workshops and town hall meetings, she said. There are three versions of the presentation depending on the age group: middle school students, high school students and adults.
Since July 2022, AAC also gave 88 fentanyl awareness presentations to Sacramento County high schools, impacting 53,729 high school students, Lewis said. About 63,061 students in Sacramento County have been exposed to the campaign in a two-year span.
After presentations, she said students report a better understanding of dangers with medications and access to support, treatment and youth resources in the community.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it does not keep data regarding the presentation of its 1 Pill Can Kill campaign in middle schools, however, the agency conducts drug awareness presentations upon request.
