As Parents of High school students, there are enough worries and concerns that constantly flood their lives. No parent nor student should have to fear being poisoned, or one of their classmates dying from a poisoning either. However, it has been brought to the world’s attention that one of our biggest fears has come to life.

The synthetic opioid, fentanyl has made an increase in taking lives from as early as birth to seventeen years of age. In the year 2020, there were a total of 560 known deaths. By 2022, the numbers have sky-rocketed to a total of 5,722 confirmed deaths from Fentanyl in CA alone.

On Wednesday, October 19th, over 12,000 fentanyl pills were seized at LAX. The pills were disguised as Halloween candy.

Within the past two months, there have been two overdosage deaths in Southern California caused by the opioid. Unfortunately, the target and most commonly affected audience is high school students, bringing San Dimas staff distress and worry about the health of vulnerable students.

Assistant Principal Jack Nance is one of many on campus that believe we need to take action immediately to make our school more aware of the dangers and common use of this drug. He explains that “it is a normal thing for kids to want to go to parties. They’re young and want to have fun. The problem is, you never know everyone who is there, you never know who is going to show up and what intentions they might have.”

Nance explains that with the spread of the drug, it is necessary to be extra cautious and to always be surrounded by trustworthy individuals. He hopes to make the school aware of the spread of fentanyl and share as much information as possible. “It is our job to make our students aware and try to prevent any bad from happening, and we hope that this leads our students to making the right choices,” Nance explains.

For now, the world lies in wait for a solution to end this epidemic. Nance and the rest of the SDHS staff want to ensure that each student is aware of what it is, its damning effects, and how to prevent its use. It is important to look out for one another. Humans are in control of their decisions and with fentanyl added alongside all the other dangers in the world, making smart choices can help prevent one less tragedy.