Public invited to program about Fentanyl

By Donnie A. Lucas

An important assembly on the dangers of rapidly increasing use of the drug Fentanyl will be presented to students in grades 6-12 next Thursday, Oct. 12 at the high school auditorium.

Parents and the general public are urged to attend to learn more about the illegal Fentanyl epidemic and how to help protect children and adults from falling prey to the deadly drug.

The event is set to start at 9:15 a.m., with a pair of law enforcement officers from a Lubbock area narcotics unit presenting the information and sharing stories.

“We want parents and students alike to understand the dangers of Fentanyl use,” principal Ezra Chambers said. “It is being added to several other drugs, so parents and students need to be aware of just how dangerous it is.”

October has been declared Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has charged state agencies including the Texas Education Agency to raise awareness of the impact that the illegal use of the drug is having across the state and the country.

The assembly is part of Albany ISD’s response to educating youth and adults about the dangers of Fentanyl use and its growing prevalence.

Topics to discussed will include examples of local cases, pill recognition, identifying paraphernalia, indicators of Fentanyl use, and death rates.

The program is expected to last about one hour.