Durango High School students led a forum to discuss the spread of fentanyl and the use of Narcan to counteract overdoses Monday at the Durango Public Library.

The forum welcomed speakers from Durango Police Department, Durango Fire Protection District and San Juan Basin Public Health.

Narcan usage has been a subject of debate between the district and a group of DHS students since January when students hosted a rally in support of carrying Narcan at school. Narcan is a brand of Naloxone that is used to reverse the symptoms of an opioid overdose.

The district has repeatedly said it cannot allow students to carry Narcan because of a Colorado statute stipulates that only employees or agents trained to administer Narcan are protected from civil liability or criminal prosecution.

The students have been adamant about changing the district’s alcohol and drug policy to keep from punishing students who carry Narcan on campus in addition to allowing students to carry and administer the lifesaving drug.

Also, students feel the district has misinterpreted the statue the Colorado statute. DHS senior Hays Stritikus cited Colorado’s Third Party Naloxone Law during the students’ presentation at the forum.

The law allows for a person other than a health care provider or health care facility that acts in good faith to administer naloxone to another person believed to be suffering an opiate-related drug overdose. It also states that an individual who administers naloxone shall be immune from criminal prosecution and was amended in 2020 to extend immunity to those who have administered expired naloxone in lifesaving efforts.

The students continued to advocate for becoming “agents” who can administer Narcan under the Colorado Revised Statute.

9-R Superintendent Karen Cheser said during the district’s presentation Monday that after discussion with the district’s attorney that there could be a possibility for 18-year-old high school students to become Narcan-administering agents for the school.

“But what that does – and parents would have to understand – is that they’re taking on the liability,” Cheser said.

Other community members chimed in during the forum to offer information about drug use as well as ways to prevent overdose. Durango Police Chief Bob Brammer spoke about the dangers of fentanyl.

He said that since 2018, the United States has experienced about 350,000 fentanyl-related deaths. He added that the U.S. lost around 76,000 people to fentanyl in 2022 alone.

“You guys are talking about harm reduction. You’re talking about getting involved with the problem after it is a problem. Prevention is going to be key in us being successful,” Brammer said.

He warned about the emergence of “tranq” or Xylazine that is a sedative often used on animals.

He said the drug is dangerous because it is often being mixed with fentanyl and that Narcan doesn’t help treat Xylazine overdoes.

The students attempted to dismiss that claim during their presentation by citing the National Institute of Drug Abuse website which states that “in the event of a suspected xylazine overdose, experts recommend giving opioid reversal medication naloxone because Xylazine is frequently combined with opioids.”

Brammer also added that the best way to prevent drug overdoses is to abstain from drug use all together. DHS Senior Nina Quayle said that abstinence is not a realistic solution.

“Abstinence and complete prevention isn't a realistic solution, Quayle said. “And I hate to say that, but like I said before, it's been used at parties which shows that hard drugs are being used and it is a prominent issue.”

Students cited a 2019 Colorado Healthy Kids Survey conducted by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

The survey says that in 2019, 15.2% of students reported having tried a hard drug and that nearly 50% of students had tried smoking marijuana.

Durango Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Randy Black said the use of Narcan has increased over the last couple of years.

He said the best thing people can do if they see someone experiencing an overdose is call 911. He added that the medical professionals will often administer Narcan intravenously which is more effective than the nasal spray.

This is because the nasal spray absorbs through the mucus membrane.

He said people often don’t know how much they are consuming when taking fentanyl. The prescribed medical dose of fentanyl is 50 micrograms. In comparison, he said people who are given morphine are often administered 5 milligrams, which would be 5,000 micrograms.

Black said people need to be careful with their dosages of Narcan. Some people start vomiting when the drug is administered, and that could restrict the patient’s airway.

“We don't blast people with a full dose,” Black said. “We give them just enough to get them breathing.”

Ashley Gonzalez and Chandler Griffin of San Juan Basin Public Health discussed the importance of harm reduction.

“There are lots of studies that have been done on harm reduction and they do result in a decrease in drug use,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said informing students on harm reduction practices does not lead to increased drug use.

9-R Medical Director Heidi McMillan said adolescence is a period when people are looking for a reward factor which often leads to experimentation with drugs and alcohol.

She said there is two sides to the brain: the “have to” and the “want to.”

She said the “want to” side is the dopaminergic pathway where there’s a reward system.

“That reward system brain is what matures during adolescence, and really there's a lot of craving for hitting it,” McMillan said.

McMillan said the most eye-opening aspect of the fentanyl epidemic is that it is now impacting children and teens at higher rates.

The students stated in their presentation that 550 DHS students signed a petition demanding that the district’s policy be changed to allow students to carry Narcan.

tbrown@durangoherald.com