Youth deaths from drugs in Oregon about doubled in 2020, growing faster than any other age group in the state, 3x the state growth rate. That's because of illicit fentanyl, often packaged in fake pills. Find resources to educate our kids @SongforCharlie. #onepillcankill (thread) 
48 out of 76 OR youth deaths in 2020 involved fentanyl. Fentanyl is involved in youth drug death more than twice as much as it is for all ages in OR. That's caused in part by fake pills, sold as legit medicine, often over social media. Youth are largely unaware of this risk.
All lives lost to drugs matter and there is so much to do. But OR is not an outlier vs. US at the top line. It's in the area of fentanyl & youth where we are growing the fastest and where different solutions are needed. 4th & 5th worst in the country for these measures!
This is more about education, mental health, & reducing supply than it is about addiction,recovery, and test strips. Youth are often not seeking fentanyl, instead experimenting & taking what they think is safe Rx to cope with today's life as a youngster. But, deceived, and dying!
Fake pill death can happen to anyone who chooses to take medicine not prescribed to them. No time for 'intervention' for an unsuspecting youth seeking an Oxy/Xanax/Perc/etc...not a good choice, but quite common in today's culture. Find free resources @ songforcharlie.org
These data have been long in coming. I understand OR SUDORS is coming along to provide fresher & deeper insights. Meanwhile, these data are from near-final 2020 CDC Provisional. Looking forward to OHA report to legislature and hopefully a youth focus. wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10-prov…
@NickKristof @noellecrombie @PeteFerryman @SchreiberEvan @OregonGovBrown @OHAOregon @USAO_OR @washco_da @MultCoDA @RonWyden @SenJeffMerkley @RepBonamici @WCSOOregon @MultCoSO @ClackCoSheriff @ESHforOregon @RepDexterOR @FBIPortland @ElleStanger @KCookKGW @KOINNews @Oregonian @OPB
Kudos @BeavertonSD for treating fake pills with the seriousness & focus it deserves, developing and delivering lessons after sadly losing multiple students. Educators, parents, community members can use this content freely. (end) songforcharlie.org/classroom-less…
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