Pinned Tweet
Fentanyl changed the game, but esp for school-age kids whose deaths are swamped by totals(500K total drug deaths in 5 yrs vs. 5K school-agers).
But while all ages deaths have steadily grown, doubling over 7yrs...these kids' deaths doubled in 1yr.
Mitigations below...(upstream!)
Youth awareness of dangers of fentanyl is way up while youth drug deaths are way down. Evidence says that an accurate perception of harm is a protective factor and less prevalent supply lowers their risk. Still more to do.
Read @SongforCharlie's latest: songforcharlie.org/articles/…
Amidst OD tragedy at Ole Miss & possibly other nearby schools, some solace can be taken that we are at least atm in a better spot than before fentanyl arrived in force. Youth awareness of fentanyl in fake pills way up, deaths are way down — but more to do. songforcharlie.org/articles/…
1.4M U.S. drug deaths in 25 yrs, half more recently driven by fentanyl. That spike is thankfully gone & we are back to regular awful atm.
But, more than half the states are still worse off than they were pre-spike.
"Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan."
Lasting solves?
🎯. The safest thing for teens to do is not use at all. But some will - states need to do a much better job regulating & educating. Potency, place, price, promotion, product. But the industry is fighting every bit of that common sense tooth & nail.
nytimes.com/2026/08/24/opini…
“…the bill to cap individual edibles at 10 milligrams of THC made it past the Oregon Senate, but it died in the committee process on the House side as members received intense pushback from marijuana industry groups.”
oregonlive.com/politics/2026…
Growing teen brains uniquely susceptible to addiction and harms. But can be mitigated even in legal states with policy. Requires putting public health over industry profit and influence.
Cannabis price/tax, retail density, packaging, potency, policies in legal states need review w lens of reducing youth risk factors, while also increasing protective ones (education, primary prvntn, etc.). Simply having an age restriction is insufficient.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2…
10% of Oregon teens and 20% of young adults <25 have cannabis use disorder. It’s legal here and not going away. Common sense regulation like limiting retail density further, reducing potency, tax, warning labels, safer packaging, and education can mitigate these harms.
The debate isn’t legalize or not, or if there is a problem. It’s will we do anything about it? Continuing to ignore the clear harms & the common sense policy of our neighbors who have better outcomes is indicative of our weak governance & bad choices on both sides of the aisle.
An Oregon state senator and pediatrician is proposing legislation to cap individual cannabis edibles at 10 milligrams of THC, require additional warning labels on cannabis products, and expand cannabis prevention education in schools. centraloregondaily.com/news/…
Agree or disagree w legal weed is moot to OR debate; it’s legal and causing problems, solvable with sensible policy that looks like our neighbors w better outcomes. Commercialization of addictive substances requires public health & commercial interests to be looked at together.
“When we talk about the risk of psychosis, this isn’t just what we would call a bad experience while you are actually intoxicated by cannabis,” Sen. Lisa Reynolds said. “This is a long-term disability.” beavertonvalleytimes.com/202…
Oregon presser spotlighting recent overdose death decreases, like many other things from the state, credits various investments while failing to show we actually have any idea what is working or not. Reduced deaths is great news, but essentially mirrors national trend.
Oregon's overdose deaths have decreased over the past two years, according to provisional federal data and a new report released by OHA. For more information, read our new release: ow.ly/8wBX50Z0qlB
On @FentAwareDay, think about protecting young people from fake pills & other harmful substances.
Youth need information about the toxic drug landscape & real tools for managing stress and problem solving. With that, substances lose some of their appeal.
usatoday.com/story/opinion/2…
Today, @FentAwareDay, I am grateful that the insane spike in teen death driven by fentanyl is near over & that deaths of young adults are now fewer than 15 yrs ago.....while also recognizing that fent/synthetics are far from gone and root causes of this long epidemic still exist.
Three Live Webinars on April 29th:
This @FentAwareDay, @SongforCharlie hosts three live virtual conversations—designed for parents, educators, prevention professionals and community leaders. Choose the session that fits your role, or join all three.
fentanylawarenessday.org/pag…
(3/3)Teens:
Spike in teen drug deaths driven by fake pills & naivety of potent fentanyl within. Great news that once teen perception of harm of Rx off script caught up, mortality dropped. Still, only 1/2 are aware; more work needed + prevention/resilience. thenewdrugtalk.org/