Kuna, Boise and West Ada school districts partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Drug Enforcement Administration to have a dialogue about the synthetic opioid.
A state of Idaho report says deaths of fentanyl overdoses tripled in the state from 2020 to 2022. The U.S. Attorney's Office has reached out to the Kuna, Boise and West Ada school districts for students to participate in a fentanyl awareness seminar.
The workshop teaches students the consequences and the short- and long-term effects of fentanyl use, and tries to encourage students to engage with their communities.
Boise School District Communications Manager Ryan Hill says that by educating seventh and eighth grade students about fentanyl, they hope to raise awareness in their schools.
“One of the campaigns that DrugFree Idaho has been running is what's called the ‘Natural High’, which is kind of to pivot kids away from drugs and into ‘What can you go out and do in your daily life that gets you high in a natural way’,” Hill said.
Mental health can be a factor in fentanyl use and over the past year, the Boise School District has launched various mental health programs, like the Hope Squad, where students can support their peers from social isolation and train staff to increase their literacy around depression.
“One of the things that I've certainly learned in the time that I've been around education is that it's never one thing. You have to take a holistic approach when you're looking at a lot of these emotional or social issues,” Hill said.
He says that state officials are creating materials to help other school districts open the discussion of fentanyl awareness within their communities.
If you or someone you know is dealing with a fentanyl overdose, please call 911 or a poison control center immediately. For information on opioid overdoses, click here.
