SPOKANE, Wash. — The Knitting Factory is usually a place to catch a show or concert. But Thursday's main event was a bit different: teaching students from 25 high schools across eastern Washington and north Idaho about the dangers of fake fentanyl.
"We're not here to scare you, we're here to empower you," the Youth Fentanyl Summit's emcee said.
Using interactive trivia and group chats, Thursday's event broke down the hard numbers on fentanyl in an easy to understand way.
"I didn't know fake fentanyl was a thing until we came here today. It's helped to learn a lot more about it," said Kellogg High School student Lilly Sawyer.
"To be honest, I didn't know what fentanyl was," said Kellogg High School student Donald Beach.
It was a first for Spokane's Alliance for Fentanyl Education (S.A.F.E.). The summit targets teens, an age group S.A.F.E. says is more likely to use, and die from, fentanyl.
Zoie Bernier, another student from Kellogg, says she was surprised to learn how quickly an overdose can happen.
"Yeah, it takes the littlest amount," she said.
While some came in with little knowledge about the street drug, which many said they learned is different from the fentanyl prescribed at the hospital, others already know how easy the illicit version can be to get.
Isabel Billieu from Ferris High School says she's had people she doesn't know offer her drugs on social media.
"People on Snapchat that will just randomly text you like, 'You want to buy this? It's this much.' And give you a menu pretty much," the eleventh grader said.
When asked if they knew someone who had overdosed on drugs or if they'd lost anyone to drugs or alcohol, most of the crowd raised their hands.
While the teens learned important information on how prevalent fake fentanyl is (so far this year, the DEA has seized more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder and 50 million fake fentanyl pills), and how dangerous it can be (six out of every ten fentanyl pills contain a potentially lethal dose), it's not just stats. Students also heard personal stories from those who have lost because of or lived through addiction.
"People aren't offering it to you like they say they are, it's the people closest to you. That's what happened to me," said Sarah Nowels, who is recovering from fentanyl addiction. "I was in a relationship with somebody and one day he came back to the house and said hey, you should try this."
It's a day out of class that could be a lifesaving lesson worth sharing.
"Definitely will," said Billieu. "I will probably tell my mom because I was texting her in the middle telling her I'm learning so much I didn't know. It's a good thing. Everybody should learn this."
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