As lawmakers in Sacramento debate options to the fentanyl disaster, public well being college students at Santa Clara College unveiled their very own distinctive method on Tuesday: a free on-campus merchandising machine that dispenses canisters of the opioid-overdose reversing treatment Narcan to anybody who desires it.
It’s the primary of its sort on a Bay Space campus, with Stanford College anticipated to introduce one in a couple of weeks.
College students who helped lead the trouble say its an essential first step in addressing rising use of the highly effective drug, which is blamed for one-in-five youth deaths statewide.
“SCU (Santa Clara College) is a celebration faculty, so drug use is one thing that we all know occurs on campus, off campus or close to campus,” mentioned Setareh Tehrani, one of many public well being majors who championed the venture.
Faculty officers say that the merchandising machine is designed to resolve one of many largest boundaries that college students face in buying Narcan — its excessive value. The drug, which is also referred to as naloxone, prices anyplace from $70 to $150 with out insurance coverage — a price ticket that places it out of attain for a lot of college students who reside on a good finances.
“The very first thing is that it’s free, and it’s in a spot that's extensively accessible to college students,” mentioned Santa Clara College Assistant Professor of Public Well being Jamie Chang, who helped lead the marketing campaign for the campus merchandising machine. “(However even) no matter whether or not or not college students determine to take the Naloxone, we’re hoping that it a minimum of sends the message that they should take this significantly and that there are instruments on the market for them.”
Bay Space highschool districts have additionally moved to make Narcan extra available on their campuses, although some districts have lagged behind in getting their very own provide. Public schools in California, in the meantime, are required to distribute doses of Narcan at their campus well being facilities.
College students within the public well being division of Santa Clara College have additionally began reaching out to campus organizations like fraternities and sororities to verify they know easy methods to get Narcan and different helpful instruments like fentanyl check strips. The highly effective opioid, which is 50 occasions stronger than heroin, is particularly harmful as a result of it’s typically laced into counterfeit painkillers and stimulants in style with younger individuals. Customers typically do not know they ingesting fentanyl.
Fraternities specifically are top-of-mind to many college students who bear in mind when Charlie Ternan, then a SCU pupil, died of fentanyl poisoning whereas seemingly asleep in his off-campus fraternity bed room again in 2020.
Charlie’s father, Ed Ternan, based a non-profit known as Music for Charlie after his son handed away. The group’s aim is to unfold consciousness in regards to the risks of tablets laced with fentanyl. One of many group’s main pushes led to March 9 being acknowledged as Nationwide Fentanyl Consciousness Day.
Ed Ternan mentioned he absolutely helps Santa Clara College’s push to arrange a Narcan merchandising machine on campus as a part of their very own Consciousness Day ceremony. However he isn’t certain if Narcan alone is the answer.
“There’s an opportunity that Narcan could have saved Charlie — if his roommates had been educated about easy methods to determine an opioid overdose and reacted rapidly,” Ternan mentioned. “However in actuality, the probabilities are small. His associates walked by a number of occasions, his door was open, they usually assumed he was napping.”
In the meantime, public well being college students on campus Tuesday had been adamant that their classmates take note of the disaster, which claims the lives of tons of of younger Californians yearly.
“Individuals are extra conscious of fentanyl. We’ve talked about it in every single place, from Greek life to membership sports activities to varsity sports activities,” mentioned Olivia Pruett, a senior who research public well being. However Narcan “is simply efficient if individuals have it once they want it. This dialog has to maintain taking place.”