In a bold move to shield Portland's youth from the silent killer on the streets, Multnomah County kicked off a fentanyl awareness drive aiming to stamp out the rampant spread of drug overdoses among teens. The Health Department's campaign, "Expect Fentanyl," delivers a stark warning: the lethal drug is lurking in common counterfeit prescription pills, says Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. According to Multnomah County, the program was spurred into action in response to the unsettling data revealing that nearly 7 out of 10 fake pills confiscated by the DEA in 2023 contained a potentially fatal dose of the substance, which is a hundred times mightier than morphine.
Signifying the gravity of the crisis, a weekly count records that around 22 teens between ages 14 and 18 die in the U.S.—victims of fentanyl's grip, explains County Health Department Director Rachael Banks. Despite the decline in overall teen drug use, fentanyl-involved deaths are accelerating, a contradiction that spells out a grim picture for the community and, most importantly, for the adolescents caught in the crosshairs of this crisis.
Helming the front lines, the educational blitz will strike the eyes and ears of students returning to school for the 2024–2025 academic term. Targeting the everyday routes and digital realms of teenagers, the message will be unmissable on bus benches and shelters, not to mention social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat along with streaming services including Spotify and Pandora, according to the county's campaign details. The aim: engrain in the minds of the young that any pill not prescribed by a doctor is suspect, and every dose from the street could be their last. Furthermore, they're pushing naloxone as a lifeline, available free to high schoolers, which can reverse the deadly course of a fentanyl overdose—no professional training is necessary.
With a budget nudging north of $184,000, the campaign isn't pulling any punches. Local strategic communications outfit, Coates Kokes has landed a contract worth $86,500 to dictate the campaign's creative direction. Meanwhile, the Health Department is dropping an additional $98,284 on targeted ads, ensuring that their message doesn't get lost in the noise, according to the county's initiative. Tragically enough, the latest stats reel off a sobering reality: Multnomah youth aged 15 to 24 represented 6% of all overdose fatalities from 2018 to 2022—that’s 80 young lives cut drastically short.
To bolster the campaign’s reach, the Health Department is also deploying educational resources, including posters, flyers, and handouts, into the hands of schools and organizations that work closely with youth. Embedded in these tools is life-saving advice on spotting the ominous signs of an overdose and acting promptly to save a life. Stepping into the drug-scarred landscape, this initiative aims to fortify the community's defense against fentanyl's encroachment, ensuring that help isn't just at hand, but also at the forefront of awareness for Portland's vulnerable youth.
