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  • Intro
    A little time planning can go a long way and give you much more success than just forwarding a mail or a link. Think through these topics and be sure to do your research.
  • Educate yourself
    Make sure you have a good understanding of what is happening with the drug landscape in America with the introduction of fentanyl so you are able to competently and confidently speak to the issues. Some good resources: The Fentapill Problem: A Summary Parent Resources
  • Personal Story
    Are you a bereaved parent yourself or have a close friend or family member who is? Personal stories have huge impact. Think about if and how you want to tell that story as part of this effort in a way that makes the impact you are looking for and respects your child and family. Decide what aspects of your story you are not willing to share or are not important to the main message.
  • Local News
    Locate one or more relatively recent news stories from your own community or those nearby (google ‘fentanyl’ and your city or state). The more current and specific the story is about age, Fentapills, social media, etc., the better. Save these web links.
  • Data
    Find key data points and information about fentanyl/fentapills from reputable places that support the idea that this is needed in your community. If you can access local data and information through your local health department or law enforcement, that is ideal. Also be on the lookout for specific data points in local news articles. Songforcharlie.org is a good place for national numbers. Here are some links that can help you find national and state insights: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm#dashboard https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00438.asp https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/analysis.html https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/synthetic/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00395.asp https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-summaries-by-state
  • Existing curriculum
    If your school district publishes their learning standards and/or curriculum, find out what is already included on this topic. If you have a teacher contact that teaches health curriculum, they can help you find this. It can be helpful if you know the specific learning standard/target you are trying to influence (i.e.: “Educate students on the social and health impacts of misuse of controlled substances”). If you can get your hands on classroom content, it is helpful to know if it specifically covers fake pills that can easily bought on social media so you know if there is a gap in the existing curriculum being taught in your schools.

SPOTLIGHT STATS

For the 12 months ending December 2021, CDC projects for all ages:

  • 107K-109K total drug-induced deaths, +16% vs. prior year.

  • Over 72K (66%) of these deaths involved fentanyl & other synthetic opioids, mostly illicit, and often in combination with other drugs; this is +26% vs. prior year.

Youth (Age 14-23) drug-induced deaths:

  • In 2021, 6,000 youth will have died from drugs with fentanyl involved, 4,800 of them with fentanyl involved, 79% of all youth drug death

  • Drug deaths are second behind car accidents in accidental deaths, about equal to homicide & suicides in leading overall deaths

  • Youth drug deaths have quadrupled over 20 years, driven recently by Fentanyl involvement which has grown over 6X since 2015 (+558%)

  • Meanwhile, in the same 5 years, deaths involving Meth, Cocaine, Heroin, Benzos, & Legit Opioids combined have been mostly flat (+16%)

  • Fentanyl is involved in more youth death than all other drug types combined; many deaths involve multiple drugs

  • Since 2018, Teen (14-18) drug deaths have grown faster than any other age group (+152%) driven by fentanyl (+356%); this is about 3x faster than the U.S. all ages growth rates

  • Counterfeit pill seizures have grown 50-fold since beginning of 2018 to end of 2021, over 10M pills per year

“Warn the Kids” Research:

  • 4 out of 5 young Americans say people their age feel overwhelmed

  • Common stressors for young Americans include academics, social concerns, finances, and their future. Coping with stress & anxiety is a leading reason for young Americans to misuse prescription medication

  • 16% of young Americans have misused prescription medicine, 22% have thought about it, and 20% say they are likely to or are unsure about misusing prescription medication in the future

  • 89% of young Americans feel that misusing prescription medicine is ‘risky’, but only 68% consider taking Rx opioids off script as ‘dangerous’ (even less for benzos (eg Xanax) and stimulants (eg Adderall))

  • Less than half (48%) of young Americans – including just more than a third (36%) of teens – are aware that fentanyl is being used to create counterfeit pills

  • Only 2 in 5 young Americans consider themselves knowledgeable about fentanyl. 68% consider fentanyl to be dangerous, far less than heroin (84%) and cocaine (81%) even though fentanyl is involved in 17x more deaths than heroin and 5x more than cocaine. Nearly 20% of young Americans don’t know enough about fentanyl to rate its danger

  • After reviewing targeted information about fentanyl in fake pills, 65% of young Americans are less likely to consider misusing Rx drugs

  • Those who know the dangers of fentanyl are significantly less likely to consider misusing Rx drugs in the future

CURRENT

DATA

Updated October 2022. All mortality data derived from CDC; final through December 2020 + provisional through December 2021

Browse through some of our helpful resources to learn more about fentapills and fentanyl.  

RESOURCES &

RESEARCH

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