SAN FRANCISCO (KNX) — In an effort to combat the growing number of fentanyl overdoses, officials in Santa Clara County want to help protect teenagers who might be in danger of overdosing by providing them with Narcan at schools. Fentanyl has been increasingly making its way into more street drugs.
There have been repeated warnings from health authorities that what people think are party drugs could be laced with fentanyl.
"They don't know the risks, that they really are playing Russian roulette, literally, with these street drugs they're taking," said Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez.
Chavez has partnered with the Fentanyl Working Group, established by the Board of Supervisors, the District Attorney, and the Behavioral Health Services Administrator, to create a proposal to consider more funding for Narcan in schools.
Narcan, or Naloxone, is an FDA-approved medication that can be a lifesaving overdose reversal drug, critical as an overdose can happen in a matter of minutes.
"911 isn't always called as quickly as one would like," said Chavez. "While we're waiting for an ambulance to respond we don't lose a child in the interim."
The group has been meeting since April to tackle the ongoing issue.
Ultimately it will be a local decision whether schools want to supply Narcan, she said, but this report would really be about about accepting the reality that some kids are doing drugs.
"We're not encouraging young people to take drugs," she said. "But we do want to make sure that they survive that experience."
The proposal will be brought before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to determine whether more funding should be allocated for schools to provide Narcan, as well as fentanyl test strips which can be used to determine if fentanyl is present in other drugs.
Along with distributing Narcan, the proposal would include a training program as well as other means of support for schools to adopt by the time the fall semester begins.
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