Opioid use in high schools

[karinothing]

Last week was a rough week in my area. Four kids OD'd and one unfortunately passed away. The OD happened at the local HS. The next day EMS was called to the school for a suspected OD and again today (I don't know the outcome of these situations and the news only came from police scanners so unclear what the real situation is). From what I heard other schools in the area are experiencing similar situations, but it doesn't make the news (for whatever reason). 

But i was listening to teachers talk about how they panic when kids fall asleep in their classroom now because they don't' know if they are sleeping or on something. Currently teachers aren't allowed to carry Narcan (it is in the clinic only) but they are trying to change that. 


Are folks seeing similar stuff in their area? 

[imimahoney]

This is not new. I teach North of Boston and we've had training for the past 10 years.

Drugs are, and have been, everywhere.

[karinothing]

Feb 6, 2023 14:39:49 GMT -5 imimahoney said:

This is not new. I teach North of Boston and we've had training for the past 10 years.

Drugs are everywhere.

Are you allowed to carry Narcan in the classroom? Can you offer kids narcan or test strips? We are trying to get the school board to give the teachers more ability to do a first hand response if necessary, but I am curious what other schools are doing. 

The kid died from a pill laced with fentanyl. Only 14. It is so heartbreaking. 

ETA: I obviously know drugs are everywhere, Just wondering if ODs are a common occurrance on school campus. 

[Pilsy]

Ugh. I'm so sorry to hear this.

I've only heard about weed and vaping at our local high school. (The vaping came up during a recent PTA meeting. I guess a lot of students are addicted and requesting help.) I haven't heard much about opioids, but I'm also not super tuned into HS happenings since my children are in elementary.

[beerlover]

I'm pretty sure my H (a principal) has Narcan at school.

I mostly hear about weed and vaping at his school, not as much opioids. He's had many students come to school drunk before too, sadly.

[savan]

Yes. As the parent of two teenagers, I am constantly reminding them not to take a pill from someone else, even if they swear it’s something benign. While no one has OD’d at our high school, they do have Narcan on campus and have had several parent meetings about the issue.

[karinothing]

I do wonder how much schools tell the public or parents. So this was a huge response from police and EMS because it was multiple students. This high school is the *bad HS in the area. Supposedly the *good HS had 3 ODs last week (from what staff tells me) but it never made the news. I have zero idea what is true and obviously can't verify but I know that police or the news aren't involved every time there is a medical event at schools. I guess what I am saying is I don't think there is transparency on this issue.

[Jalapeñomel]

Unfortunately, kids have been ODing for a long time. We had several kids in my HS OD (although crystal and speed were the drugs of choice at that time).

I'm fairly certain our nurse has Narcan.

[W.T.Faulkner]

No opioid use that I’m aware of, but a fuckton of weed and vaping.

Sometimes I wonder whether my kids’ proximity to one of the heroin capitals of the US is a deterrent for them from use/abuse. My kids encounter a ton of people struggling with opioid addiction every single day on public transportation just to get to school. They see the effects so often that they may not ever want to try. If there’s a single benefit of growing up in poverty, maybe this is it.

[InBetweenDays]

A student OD'd at DD's high school a few years ago (DD was in middle school at the time so guess this was 4-5 years ago) and just this year a student OD'd at our neighboring public high school. Similar to savan we have frequent conversations with our teens about not taking ANY pill, powder, etc. from anyone. No matter how trusted the person is that offers it to them.

Our state laws pretty clearly lay out who can administer "opioid reversal medication". Following that, our schools have narcan or similar on campus, and it can be administered by either the nurse or a "school personnel who is a designated trained responders". In addition any individual who has been personally prescribed narcan is allowed to carry and administer it if they have previously shown proof of training.

[waverly]

I haven't heard of many cases in our community. But with fentanyl it is so much more lethal and Narcan is less effective, and it requires more Narcan.

I have Narcan at my desk (not a teacher), so I do recommend that everyone have Narcan. The Health Department gave it to us for free and provided staff training. Honestly if I were a teacher and this was happening, I'd rather slip some in my purse or a drawer than wait for Board approval. Good Samaritan laws protect us, and it is pretty hard to go wrong with Narcan. If you administer it and they are not ODing, then nothing happens.  

I've talked to DS, but I need to have more conversations in the theme of don't take any pill ever that someone gives him.  

[InBetweenDays]

Feb 6, 2023 15:00:50 GMT -5 W.T.Faulkner said:

 My kids encounter a ton of people struggling with opioid addiction every single day on public transportation just to get to school. They see the effects so often that they may not ever want to try. 

Yes, on a weekly and sometimes daily basis our kids can look around our streets and buses and see the heartbreaking effects of addiction.

[wildrice]

Ooof, I'm really surprised that teachers aren't allowed to carry Narcan! It's such a lifesaver for this kind of thing. I guess having it in the building might be enough IF there is a good way to get it to a classroom quickly, but if not - that's a big risk.

I work at a health clinic and we're not allowed to give Narcan as non-medical providers, but that's because there are plenty of more qualified people in the building to do it. Unfortunately overdoses are really common with our patient population and happens more days than not

I just saw something on the news about how there is a huge influx of pills laced with Fentanyl - somewhere upwards of 90% of street pills that were recovered recently were laced. That is SO scary.

Here's a fact I didn't know until recently - at least in my state, anyone can get a prescription for Narcan through the pharmacy, and it's usually covered by insurance. It's not a bad idea for everyone to carry it just in case. Not that I'm advocating for teachers to put their job on the line, but I wonder if they'd really get in trouble if they had some on hand and administered it without permission? If it saves a life, are they really going to be disciplined for that? Narcan will not harm someone if it is administered when it isn't needed, so it seems like there is little risk in allowing people to have it on hand. It's not hard to administer.

[karinothing]

wildrice, I doubt teachers would get in trouble (and most i know went to school with Narcan today). The county held a free training and everyone that attended got some.

[shortstax]

Perhaps this is my Ohio showing, but narcan is pretty easy for any resident to get to keep on hand, just in case.

I hate that it’s a need, but it’s such a need.

Maybe your city or county has something similar to this for teachers/parents/community members: www.columbus.gov/publichealth/programs/alcohol-and-drug-abuse/access-to-naloxone/

[karinothing]

Feb 6, 2023 15:32:09 GMT -5 shortstax said:

Perhaps this is my Ohio showing, but narcan is pretty easy for any resident to get to keep on hand, just in case.

I hate that it’s a need, but it’s such a need.

Maybe your city or county has something similar to this for teachers/parents/community members: www.columbus.gov/publichealth/programs/alcohol-and-drug-abuse/access-to-naloxone/

Yes we do have that. The county gives it out. Just policy currently states it needs to be in the clinic. 

[fivechickens]

I work in a MS and there have been several incidents involving edibles gummies at two different MS from our district (that I have heard of). Three of them at the MS I work at had to have EMS called.

[imchuckbass]

I’m a nurse at a substance abuse clinic in Massachusetts. There are a large number of pressed pills that are laced with fentanyl. There are also street benzos that are laced with fentanyl ( usually “Xanax”). Narcan is a safe and easy way to help someone who is overdosing. If you can obtain I would definitely recommend anybody keep it handy. It is a simple nasal spray that will not harm the person if they are not overdosing. I repeatedly tell my teenager the dangers of laced drugs. Often we even see the dealers that are unsure of the actual contents of the drugs they are selling. It’s terrifying and fairly common.

[imchuckbass]

Feb 6, 2023 15:51:57 GMT -5 imchuckbass said:

I’m a nurse at a substance abuse clinic in Massachusetts. There are a large number of pressed pills that are laced with fentanyl. There are also street benzos that are laced with fentanyl ( usually “Xanax”). Narcan is a safe and easy way to help someone who is overdosing. If you can obtain I would definitely recommend anybody keep it handy. It is a simple nasal spray that will not harm the person if they are not overdosing. I repeatedly tell my teenager the dangers of laced drugs. Often we even see the dealers that are unsure of the actual contents of the drugs they are selling. It’s terrifying and fairly common.

[br

I’m quoting myself to remind any teenage athletes you know to be super careful if a teammate offers any kind of pain medication. I’m always terrified a kid will say he has an injury or pain and a teammate will offer a medication and it’s tainted or laced.

[midwestmama]

Ugh, I'm so sorry to hear this.

DS told me last week that a kid took an edible in the lunch room, it didn't seem like he really tried to hide it. I think DS said that the assistant principal was in the lunch room at the time and either saw the kid take it or overheard kids talking about it, and ended up chasing the kid around trying to get them to go to the office.

I know when I was in MS and HS that other students were taking and/or selling drugs, but I never witnessed an OD at school. What worries me now is the fentanyl. Both my kids are in MS and I basically have said that if they take anything given to them by someone else, they can't guarantee that it is what the person said it is (e.g., drugs, candy, OTC meds, etc.), so they shouldn't take it, because it could be laced with another substance, such as fentanyl.

[starlily]

Yes, we've had a lot of fentanyl ODs and some student deaths in our county and the neighboring ones.

I present somewhat often to parents re: truancy issues and have added slides about fentanyl dangers starting this so year -- first with my high school presentation and now with elementary & middle school as well. Most of our local school districts are also carrying Narcan in the health office. My own kids are 8 and 12 and I've had pretty frank discussions about it with them.

Most kids aren't intentionally buying fentanyl; they're buying weed, pain pills, molly, etc. that has either been laced or contaminated with fentanyl. At least 40% of street drugs are tainted, and there's no way to detect it short of using test strips. And if you weren't already aware, Snapchat and IG Stories are a huge source of teen drug sales.

Regarding transparency, locally, they've been pretty good about it because fentanyl has really changed things. Most of the districts I work with have been hosting info nights for parents in conjunction with law enforcement and the DA's office, both of which have a dedicated individual to doing these. Unfortunately, there was a death at one of the "good" public high schools last weekend and the school hosted a forum for parents within 3 days.

[mcppalmbeach]

I’m so sorry that this happened. Fentanyl scares the crap out of me. I went to a private high school and drugs were common, but absolutely unheard of actually at school. I feel like that may be different now that so many drugs are pill based. I know that is true at the public high school my son will attend next year. I was planning to get narcan both for home and for him to have in his future car.

[VillainV]

Feb 6, 2023 16:22:26 GMT -5 starlily said:

Yes, we've had a lot of fentanyl ODs and some student deaths in our county and the neighboring ones.

I present somewhat often to parents re: truancy issues and have added slides about fentanyl dangers starting this so year -- first with my high school presentation and now with elementary & middle school as well. Most of our local school districts are also carrying Narcan in the health office. My own kids are 8 and 12 and I've had pretty frank discussions about it with them.

Most kids aren't intentionally buying fentanyl; they're buying weed, pain pills, molly, etc. that has either been laced or contaminated with fentanyl. At least 40% of street drugs are tainted, and there's no way to detect it short of using test strips. And if you weren't already aware, Snapchat and IG Stories are a huge source of teen drug sales.

Regarding transparency, locally, they've been pretty good about it because fentanyl has really changed things. Most of the districts I work with have been hosting info nights for parents in conjunction with law enforcement and the DA's office, both of which have a dedicated individual to doing these. Unfortunately, there was a death at one of the "good" public high schools last weekend and the school hosted a forum for parents within 3 days.

TW (child death)

A coworker’s teenage son died from fentanyl a little over a year ago. He purchased what he thought was Adderal from someone on Snapchat. His parents found him dead in his bedroom over Christmas break. It was absolutely heartbreaking z.

[memenee]

In the absence of a needle in the arm or some obvious drug paraphernalia in the area of the person, how do you know it’s a narcan/OD situation?

[abs]

Oof.

There was a problem in our junior high a few years ago with several kids OD’ing but a new principal has really cracked down. As far as I know things are better. This is a great reminder though to talk to DD about not taking pills from friends or really anyone. We have had conversations about not leaving drinks unattended and if you walk away from something you are done with it but we haven’t talked about pills specifically. Need to. Probably food in general.

[karinothing]

Oh we just got notice that all staff will receive narcan training this week!

[karinothing]

Feb 6, 2023 16:39:43 GMT -5 memenee said:

In the absence of a needle in the arm or some obvious drug paraphernalia in the area of the person, how do you know it’s a narcan/OD situation?

Slow or shallow breathing, pale skin, slow pulse, and loss of consciousness. But also there are no bad side effects of giving narcan to someone that is not on opiods. So it can always be given as a first response if the issue is not known.

[imimahoney]

Feb 6, 2023 14:41:52 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Feb 6, 2023 14:39:49 GMT -5 imimahoney said:

This is not new. I teach North of Boston and we've had training for the past 10 years.

Drugs are everywhere.

Are you allowed to carry Narcan in the classroom? Can you offer kids narcan or test strips? We are trying to get the school board to give the teachers more ability to do a first hand response if necessary, but I am curious what other schools are doing. 

The kid died from a pill laced with fentanyl. Only 14. It is so heartbreaking. 

ETA: I obviously know drugs are everywhere, Just wondering if ODs are a common occurrance on school campus. 

It's in the nurse, main office and in the athletic office. No teachers have it in their classrooms

[akayf]

I don’t think the teachers carry it but I know narcan is in the building. I signed a consent form allowing the school to administer it to my teen. It was part of the back to school paperwork.

I haven’t heard anything about opioids on our high school but weed is a big problem. A couple months ago, pot cookies with way too much pot in them were being passed around and kids were having a bad reaction.

I’ve told my kid he is not to eat or drink anything unless it’s from home, given by a teacher or purchased in the cafeteria.

[Jalapeñomel]

Teachers carrying and administering Narcan in our current political climate and especially with how reactive so many parents are seems like a tricky thing to navigate.