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Fentanyl Awareness
What is Fentanyl?
It is a deadly synthetic opioid that is being pressed into fake pills or cut into heroin, cocaine, and other street drugs to drive addiction.To help fight the Fentanyl problem, Kennedale ISD is:
- Partnering with local law enforcement, emergency management, and health authorities to monitor and collaborate on the best way to combat the crisis.
- The district stocks Narcan on the secondary campuses with the goal of having Narcan available on all campuses. School Nurses and School Resource Officers (SROs) can administer Narcan quickly enough to help reverse the effects of a fentanyl overdose.
- The district will host a parent workshop on April 20th for English speakers and on April 27th for Spanish speakers.
- District Counselors and Social Workers will continue to inform students about Fentanyl dangers at campus assemblies. Informational posters, including “One Pill Can Kill” have been distributed to all campuses and placed in hallways and all restrooms.
To help fight the Fentanyl problem, you can:
- Talk to your children. Tell them that ANY pill they get from a friend or purchased online or off of the street could be a counterfeit pill containing Fentanyl. Only take medication that is prescribed by a doctor, purchased at a pharmacy, and approved by parents or guardians.
- Learn about the fentanyl crisis and help spread the word that this is a dangerous situation. Visit the Centers for Disease Control website’s Fentanyl Facts page as a starting-point:https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl/index.html
- Ensure that your child delivers all medications, including over-the-counter medications, to the school nurse for distribution. Students should not carry any medications at school or share them for any reason.
- Reach out to your school nurse or counselor with any specific concerns or if you need additional resources that are unique to your family.
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TIPS FOR PARENTS & CAREGIVERS
- Encourage open and honest communication.
- Explain what Fentanyl is and why it is so dangerous
- Stress not to take any pills that were not prescribed to you by a doctor
- No pill purchased on social media is safe
- Make sure they know fentanyl has been found in most illegal drugs
- Create an “exit plan” to help your child know what to do if they’re pressured to take a pill or use drugs
- For more tips on how to talk to your child about drugs, read Chapter 4 of Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent’s Guide to Substance Use Prevention at www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com/publications
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WHY IS FENTANYL SO DANGEROUS?
DEA lab testing reveals that four out of every ten fake pills with Fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose.
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WHY YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED
- The drug landscape is dramatically different from when you grew up, or even from just a few years ago.
- All parents and caregivers need to be educated on current drug threats to be able to have informed talks with their kids.
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HOW WOULD MY CHILD GET FENTANYL?
- Drug traffickers are using social media to advertise drugs and conduct sales. If you have a smartphone and a social media account, then a drug trafficker can find you. This also means they are finding your kids who have social media accounts.
- To learn about emoji codes used on social media, visit Emoji Drug Code Decoded on www.dea.gov/onepill.
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WHAT ARE THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EFFECTS OF FENTANYL?
Fentanyl use can cause confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, changes in pupil size, cold and clammy skin, coma, and respiratory failure leading to death.
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WHAT ARE FAKE PILLS?
The Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion are making Fentanyl and pressing it into fake pills. Fake pills are made to look like OxyContin®, Xanax®, Adderall®, and other pharmaceuticals. These fake pills contain no legitimate medicine. — Fentanyl is also made in a rainbow of colors, so it looks like candy.
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COMMON EMOJIS USED FOR DRUG CODE