The dangers of fentanyl are becoming a reality to students at South Grenville District High School.
Drug Units from the OPP and the Leeds, Grenville, and Lanark District Health Unit made a presentation on the lethal opioid to the student body on Friday.
The Grenville County OPP wanted to make sure the presentation took place before any parties over the March Break happened.
Jennifer Adams, the harm reduction coordinator from the health unit, explained to the students that you cannot see, smell, or taste fentanyl, and that that there is no way to tell how lethal each dose of fentanyl is. Adams says a dose as small as a grain of salt can be deadly. Adams says 14 different kinds of illicit fentanyl are finding their way into Canada from China.
Grade 12 student Sam Dalley admitted to smoking weed in the past, but says he is scared of trying it again after learning fentanyl is being found in the recreational drug. Dalley said thanks to the enlightening information and the sobering reality that one hit could result in death, he will avoid trying drugs in the future as well.
Dalley said he had no idea the opioid is so close Prescott now, after Tara Curry of the Grenville County Drug Unit revealed stories of massive drug busts containing fentanyl within the county.
Curry continued with her stories from the field, explaining that fentanyl can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin, with an overdose capable of happening within seconds to minutes.
Since February, two teens in Ottawa have died of fentanyl overdoses.
