Fentanyl, originally developed in 1959 by Dr. Paul Janssen, was created as a pain treatment for cancer patients. Over time though, people started to cut it into heroin to make the drug more potent. Beginning in the 1970s, drug dealers started to lace various pills with fentanyl. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, in 1998 and 1999, drug overdoses jumped from 8,000 to 33,000 in the United States, and most recently, from May 2020 to April 2021, more than 100,000 died from opioid overdoses.

“It’s an epidemic, and our young people are most affected by it,” principal Nicole Griffith said. “At this point, for teenagers and people in their 20s, this is the No. 1 killer.”

Only 2 milligrams of the drug, as small as the tip of a pencil, are needed to induce an overdose. When a drug is laced with fentanyl, the opioid causes relaxation, drowsiness, and then eventually what is known as the “Fentanyl death pose.” The “Fentanyl death pose” is a position when the body of someone who is overdosing stiffens and often can’t move. Other symptoms can include foaming at the mouth, a loss of consciousness and becoming cold or clammy.

According to a 2021 annual report done by the Travis County medical examiner, there were 308 opioid-related deaths in 2021 in Travis County alone, 118 of which were caused by fentanyl. Even though the 2021 casualty rate is 237% higher than it was in 2020, local health experts still expect the rate to increase in 2022.

As a result of the rise in deaths across Travis County, Austin Independent School District partnered with AISD police to distribute and supply Narcan to every high school campus. Narcan, an opioid antagonist, can treat narcotic overdoses in an emergency situation. Although necessary to prevent opioid overdoses, Narcan is not available over the counter and can only be obtained with a prescription.

“AISD will be providing all high schools with Narcan in order to make sure each student is safe,” Griffith said. “Additionally, AISD wants to train teachers to know how to use Narcan.”

In hopes to bring awareness to the crisis, AISD created various web pages and information packets to inform parents and students how crucial it is to stay alert.

Presenting the words, “Fake and Fatal,” the district wanted to convey that this synthetic drug is lethal. Likewise, at McCallum and at other district schools, students were given advisory lessons, which communicated the serious health risks of fentanyl. Additionally, the McCallum SEL group has partnered with teachers to give a presentation regarding the dangers of fentanyl.

“By educating teachers and students about the risk of fentanyl, SEL hopes to make the McCallum population a safer and more informed place on the use of drugs,” said senior Chloe Anderson, a member of the SEL student committee.

Even with education and the availability of Narcan in AISD schools, the fentanyl crisis has worsened.

‘The conversation is not over,” Griffth said. “Students need to know that they should only take drugs that are prescribed to them. You can’t guarantee that an unprescribed drug is safe. McCallum will continue to educate students and parents about this issue. Although the information around fentanyl is very scary, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it.”