Pubdate: Fri, 12 Feb 2016
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2016 The Edmonton Journal
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Otiena Ellwand
Page: A6

OFFICERS WARN STUDENTS ABOUT DEADLY DRUG

Opioid fentanyl has been linked to 272 deaths in Alberta last
year

Police school resource officers hope to start a conversation with
29,000 Edmonton high school students this winter about the dangers of
fentanyl and its even more deadly cousin, W-18.

If you look at the statistics, every year there are more and more
deaths happening, so we want to get kids informed about what this is.

The first of 21 school presentations about fentanyl, an opioid linked
to 272 deaths last year in Alberta, was heard Thursday by more than
850 students at Austin O'Brien High School.

One of those was Tania Strilets, 17, who said she had only ever heard
about people overdosing on fentanyl in the news.

"It's just scary ... I didn't even know much about it before this
presentation, just getting that basic knowledge and knowing what to
avoid so that you're not ignorant," she said.

School resource officer Const. John Sorensen said he knows of two
Edmonton high school students who died recently from fentanyl overdoses.

What students may not realize, he said, is that drug dealers can mix
fentanyl powder into other street drugs, including ecstasy, marijuana,
heroin, cocaine and even caffeine pills. Fentanyl is 100 times more
powerful than morphine.

"If you look at the statistics, every year there are more and more
deaths happening, and so we want to get kids informed about what this
is. It's so dangerous and so scary how fast it can kill you," Sorensen
said.

He said parents shouldn't be afraid to go through their children's
cellphones, keep track of what they're doing online and look through
their bedrooms.

"Like I said, good kids are trying this stuff and their friends are
pushing it on them, and you've got to protect them any way you can,"
he said.

Fentanyl doesn't discriminate based on race, gender, age or
socio-economic background, school resource officers said during their
presentation. Those who overdose aren't "bad kids," they've just made
a bad decision, they said.

They also showed students pictures of where illicit drugs are made and
told them that a dose the size of two grains of salt can be lethal.

Tania Strilets said those images helped reinforce the message about
fentanyl's dangers.

"Showing the drug lab and how completely disorganized and shady it
was, and two grams of (it) can kill you and it's just some dude mixing
it together with a spoon, I think that's the most important part," she
said.

Officers briefly touched on W-18 during the presentation, a type of
opioid that has no clinical use. The drug was detected in fentanyl
pills seized by Calgary police in August and is 100 times more
powerful than fentanyl. While it has not been found in Edmonton and
it's not a major concern yet, the officers wanted to make students
aware of it.
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