Montgomery County leaders talk substance prevention with students

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) – October is National Youth Substance Prevention Month, and on Wednesday, county leaders spoke with high school students about the opioid epidemic.

Maryland’s Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and the Director of National Drug Control Policy, Dr. Rahul Gupta, spoke with John F. Kennedy High School students about the dangers of drugs, especially opioids.

“Fentanyl really doesn’t care who you are, where you live, what you do, what you look like,” Gupta said. “It just is such a dangerous and deadly drug.”

Gupta, a graduate of Kennedy High School, was appointed to serve as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2021.

“We had 100 young people in 2022 dying a month,” he said. “That’s three-a-day, day after day.”

Miller said the number of drug-related deaths statewide last year was staggering.

“We lost 2,348 Marylanders to overdose,” she said. “To put that into perspective, that’s like losing every single person in your school, and then some.”

During the assembly, Gupta talked about the opioid overdose reversal medication, Naloxone, and then demonstrated how to administer it. Officials said it’s key to preventing future drug-related deaths.

“By learning how to use Naloxone, you can be a part of someone’s recovery journey. Giving them the hope of turning things around,” Miller said.

Montgomery County Public Schools Chief of Schools, Peter Moran, said students are allowed to carry Narcan.

“Empowering them to be part of live-saving efforts should the need arise,” Moran said.

Following the presentation, Gupta toured Kennedy High School’s Wellness Center and had a conversation with students during lunch.

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