教育和行动是打击芬太尼的关键

凯西·海斯

A research study in the Journal of the American Medical Association sounded alarms nationwide: Teen overdose deaths related to fentanyl, 强效的合成阿片类药物, 从2019年的253个上升到2021年的884个. In fact, fentanyl was identified in 77% of all adolescent overdose deaths in 2021.

芬太尼在我们社区的存在同样令人担忧. “Prior to 2019, we took so few fentanyl pills off the street, it wasn’t even a number we tracked. Now we’re taking thousands of pills in each long-term investigation,拉里默县警长办公室中尉伊恩·斯图尔特说, 北科罗拉多毒品特遣部队的指挥官.

芬太尼也被添加到其他物质中, and teens experimenting with drugs often don’t know what they’re taking, 雷切尔·奥尔森解释道, 与拉里默县自杀预防联盟合作.

“Many of the teen overdoses from fentanyl in Colorado occurred when teens were using another drug that contained fentanyl. 在很多情况下，这是他们第一次尝试一种物质.”

芬太尼是什么?

芬太尼是一种廉价, synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than 海洛因. Doctors prescribe pharmaceutically made fentanyl for patients experiencing severe or chronic pain.

有许多不同的形式，包括药丸, 粉, 液体, 皮肤补丁, 和棒棒糖, for example—fentanyl is often mixed into other street drugs to produce cheaper substances. 因此，人们可能在不知情的情况下摄入芬太尼.

芬太尼可以与包括可卡因在内的许多物质混合在一起, 海洛因, 冰毒, 莫莉, 狂喜, 以及其他娱乐性药物. 也, counterfeit opioids can be made to look just like prescription pills such as Vicodin, 奥施康定, 和二氢可待因酮.

While individuals who regularly use opioids are at highest risk for overdose, consuming any form of fentanyl poses a significant risk for overdose. 因为芬太尼很强，而且经常隐藏在其他物质中, 意外用药过量可能会迅速而意外地发生.

考虑到年轻人很容易接触到芬太尼, 这也难怪父母们, 特别是, 担心.

而不是专注于恐惧, we need to have open conversations with 青年 about the risks of taking drugs, says Dylan Dunn with SAFE Project (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic), 一个由退休的美国人创立的组织.S. 海军上将詹姆斯·温尼菲尔德和他的妻子玛丽, after losing their 19-year-old son to an accidental opioid overdose.

邓恩加入了奥尔森和约瑟·艾斯奎贝尔, associate director of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, 在指点父母时, 老师, 青年, 以及其他社区成员的循证实践, and resources that promote better understanding and solutions to the teen fentanyl crisis in northern Colorado.

“我们有解决这些问题的办法，”邓恩说. “Our biggest asset is going to be parents and 老师 willing to have open and honest conversations with our teens about drug use and how to save a life, 他们自己也要见多识广.”

开始对话

An important preventive tactic that can save lives is talking with teens about fentanyl and its prevalence in Larimer County.

“Adults can help 青年 manage the struggle through adolescence by providing teens with factual information, 不是恐吓战术, 这样他们就能做出明智的决定,埃斯奎贝尔说.

The majority of teens who begin misusing prescription drugs do so within their own homes, 认为如果一种药是医生开的, 它必须相对安全.

“Share truthful information about the unintended consequences of Rx misuse (especially if it’s not your prescription and you can’t know for sure where it came from) and how to help peers if they see someone in trouble,邓恩建议道. Research shows that kids who learn about drug risks from their parents are half as likely to experiment with drugs as 青年 who don’t have that conversation with their folks.

芬太尼测试

Low-cost fentanyl test strips help people make educated decisions about drug safety. 这种试纸可以检测出药片中微量的芬太尼, 粉末, 或注射剂, and can save the life of a teen who’s experimenting for the first time—or someone who’s using a preferred substance from a new source.

手头有纳洛酮/纳洛酮并知道如何使用

Fentanyl overdoses are preventable, and naloxone/Narcan can save lives. 纳洛酮/纳洛酮, 在科罗拉多州，任何人想要都可以免费获得, 有一种药可以逆转绝大多数的过量用药吗. “如果父母担心他们的孩子在做实验, 他们手边应该有纳洛酮，然后让孩子们接受治疗, 这样他们就能得到所需的帮助,埃斯奎贝尔说. 向你的医生要处方，并在当地药房配药.

获得心理健康支持

“Teen fentanyl use is linked to the growing need for our community to provide more social-emotional resources for 青年,奥尔森说。. Teens are being more forthcoming about mental health issues they’re experiencing, 但他们需要更多的应对技能, 及时获取资源, 对我们社区的归属感, 以及他们可以信赖的成年人.

等待看心理医生或精神科医生的人可能要排上几周的队, and there’s no guarantee that the provider will take the 青年’s insurance, 奥尔森说. She advises parents to seek out community programs that help reduce these hurdles.