Other Papers Say: Opioid education saves lives

The following editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times:

If there ever was a time to sound the alarm about a national epidemic that has killed millions of Americans, it was 20 years ago when the second wave of opioid deaths spiked. But since little has been done on a national basis to prevent deaths from fentanyl, Washington state and its local communities and schools must step up.

Many lawmakers like to address the opioid crisis through sound bites that focus on law enforcement and treatment. Indeed, the FEND Off Fentanyl Act recently passed the U.S. Senate and will, among other things, finally declare the international trafficking of fentanyl a national emergency and allow the Treasury Department to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering.

But U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and mothers like Gen Pehlivanian and Carol Schweigert understand the need for an education component as well to prevent the illicit use of opioids by those who have yet to take the risk, and to prevent deaths of those who are currently using.

King County recorded 1,004 deaths by overdose in 2022, 712 from fentanyl. The county is on track to break that record this year, with 647 overdose deaths as of July 25. And Washington had the biggest increase in the nation — more than 21 percent — in fatal overdoses reported between February 2022 and February 2023.

Cantwell has been ringing the alarm for years, and has launched a listening tour across the state to educate herself and others of the dangers of fentanyl and to seek solutions from public health officials, elected officials and those intimately affected by the crisis.

Teens and young adults are two groups where education can surely help decrease the usage and deaths. Schweigert and Pehlivanian each lost their sons — both in their 20s — to fentanyl poisoning. In both deaths, the men took pills from acquaintances under the mistaken belief they were the painkiller Percocet. Both pills were laced with fentanyl.

“It needs to start much earlier than high school,” Pehlivanian said of schools teaching about drug use. Both women have presented their stories at schools and advocate for school districts to create more formal curricula centered on drug use.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration launched the “One Pill Can Kill” presentation in 2021 and works to build more relationships with school districts each year.

Testing has shown that, of the more than 58 million pills the DEA confiscates each year, 4 out of 10 fentanyl-laced fake pills often made to look like OxyContin, Percocet or Xanax contain a potentially lethal dose.

There is much to be done to help save lives and grief when it comes to the opioid epidemic. Education provides a good chance at prevention.