The Rotary Club launched this year’s Red Ribbon Week by hosting two special assemblies at Pierce County High School to inform students about the devastating effects of the fentanyl crisis.
The club, in collaboration with PCHS leadership, brought together three speakers to address the students. Dr. Brent Waters, Police Chief Chris Wright and Pastor Justin Gambrell each brought a different perspective on the dangerous effects of fentanyl and the importance of prevention as the best form of protection from the illegal drug. Each of the two assemblies was held in the approximately 485-seat PCHS auditorium, filled to capacity with students. The first assembly program was directed toward freshmen and sophomores, the second at juniors and seniors, but the message was the same. Fentanyl has replaced heroin and Oxycontin as the most dangerous substance on the streets.
Pastor Justin Gambrell of Blackshear’s First Baptist Church opened and closed the program, but Waters and Wright did most of the talking.
Dr. Brent Waters explained the science behind addiction to the audience, noting that few people intend to become hooked on opioids. “Opioids bind a receptor in your brain, telling your body, hey, don’t feel this pain,” said Waters. “When some people take pills, their body also releases dopamine, making them feel good.”
Taking as little as five days to become dependent upon legally prescribed drugs, everyday people recovering from injuries or surgery can find themselves looking for substitutes on the street once their prescriptions run out. Waters also made an observation more chilling than anything you might see this Halloween, “There is somebody in this room right now, I guarantee you, that has taken a pill to get high.”
Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright said that in his first 15 years of law enforcement he could recall seeing only one overdose. Since then he has seen approximately 15 with a sharp uptick since 2020. He lays the blame on fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is like nothing I have ever seen,” said Wright. “So potent and so cheap, we don’t hardly ever see heroin anymore.”
Using a series of slides, Wright also showed those listening how counterfeit pills made in kitchens and bathrooms and containing fentanyl were often indistinguishable from legitimate pain medication produced in laboratory conditions.
Another slide depicted just how tiny a fatal dose of fentanyl could be. “A spoonful could kill every kid in this school,” said Wright.
Each year, October 23 31, Red Ribbon Week takes place. A cooperative campaign observed by a variety of institutions to help save lives by raising awareness of the dangers of drug use, local Rotary Club members and teachers stood by the auditorium exits at the conclusion of each assembly, offering students a red rubber bracelet bearing the motto “Celebrate Life, Live Drug Free”.
With luck, the information imparted at the two talks will help PCHS students keep on living.
Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright shows an auditorium of students a lethal dose of fentanyl.
