“Here take this”

“It will be fun”

“Don’t be a prude”

Being at the wrong place and at the wrong time falls into the laps of many teens when it comes to drug use. One night of  “fun” ruins and takes the lives of many.

About 50,000 people die from opioids each year. Sixty percent of these deaths are a result of Fentanyl.

John Hatcher, the Lakeland High School armed guard, thinks that Fentanyl is definitely present in Rathdrum.  

“There is a lot of science and engineering that goes into taking a pill,” Hatcher said. “When they mix all the ingredients together in a garage they can’t guarantee that the right dose of Fentanyl will go in each pill… out of 10 pills you might have 5 pills that have nothing, 4 pills that will get you high, and one that will kill you”.  

Hatcher explained that Fentanyl can be made into pills and is very deadly because only a small amount (the size of a sugar grain) will kill you. 

When I asked how people can avoid the chance of getting dosed with Fentanyl he said, “Don’t take illegal pills, don’t take pills from friends, if you need Tylenol or whatever it is just buy a sealed package from the store… Fentanyl can be put into any pills so just buy new, sealed stuff”.   

One-third of illicitly manufactured pills are contaminated with Fentanyl. 

Ella Haug is a sophomore at Lakeland High School said, “I know it’s not a good thing but I don’t know what it does or how it works ”. 

Young adults need to be better educated about Fentanyl and other bad drugs. 

Alyssa Renae Rith, one of my family’s friends, was taken from everyone that loves her way too soon. She was a hard-working college student with two jobs. “A friend” gave her a Xanax identical to a real prescription, it was laced with Fentanyl. She tragically died alone in her bed on July 8, 2021, after taking a pill that had enough Fentanyl in it to kill five people. Her loved ones have to mourn and think about her every day because of one pill.  

Giving or taking illegal pills can take a child away from parents.

I personally know multiple people that have died from Fentanyl or been dosed with Fentanyl. A friend of mine took something that was dosed with Fentanyl last week and if he had not taken himself to the doctor because of a gut feeling he would not be here today. 

People need to be safer about what they put in their bodies or who they are with. Taking drugs at a young age is unrewarding and can ultimately end terribly.  

Don’t take anything that you did not buy and unseal yourself.

Lakeland School District does not need any student deaths, especially if they can be avoided.