If you or someone you know is dealing with a fentanyl overdose, please call 911 or a poison control center. For information on opioid overdoses, click here. You can find out more about naloxone here.
In early August, the Idaho Department of Education began conducting a survey that will measure the impact of fentanyl in public middle and high schools. Scott Graf, the Communications Director for the Department of Education, said the questionnaire was sent to staff throughout the state to get a better understanding of how fentanyl use and overdose is affecting students.
“This is a way for us to really put our finger on the pulse of fentanyl in our middle schools and our high schools,” Graf said.
Idaho reports from 2020 to 2022 the rate of fentanyl-related overdose deaths tripled and in 2022 alone, the drug was involved in almost half of all fatal drug overdoses in the state. Captain John Kempf with Idaho State Police has witnessed this increase firsthand and helped start the Idaho Fentanyl Education project.
“That holds true in Idaho as well. And our growing segment of people that are dying from fentanyl poisonings are between the ages of 15 and 24,” Kempf said.
Idaho Fentanyl Education works with ISP and the Department of Education to conduct presentations in Idaho communities aimed at educating K-12 students on the drug’s dangers.
Boise State University is also prioritizing reducing opioid overdoses on campus, including training staff and students on overdoses and placing 40 overdose response kits around campus.
