Hillsborough teen organizes Fentanyl Awareness Day

HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. - A high school student spearheaded a free event in Hillsborough for teens and parents to raise awareness about the deadly effects of fentanyl. 

Fentanyl is involved in 80% of drug deaths among young people, according to the CDC.

Rohan Dalal, 17, is a junior at Crystal Springs Uplands School and came up with the idea of hosting Hillsborough's first-ever Fentanyl Awareness Day. He also founded the Hillsborough Youth Commission for politically inclined students.

"I thought it was something that was really far away from us, but then I kept hearing all these stories about teens just like me who were overdosing, and I realized that fentanyl is a national problem, but also a problem in the Bay Area and especially for teens," said Dalal, a Hillsborough resident. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be cheaply made.

The goal of the event held at Crocker Middle School was to educate fellow students and their parents about accidental fentanyl poisoning.

"I know a lot of illicit fentanyl and drugs laced with fentanyl can come from Snapchat and I know a vast majority of my peers and my friends use Snapchat," he added. 

"We didn't grow up with these phones," recalled speaker Liz Walker. 

The San Carlos mother shared her son Colin's story. He suffered from anxiety and depression, which worsened during the pandemic.

Colin Walker was 17 when he overdosed in his bedroom in August 2021 from fentanyl-laced cocaine.

"He was going on Snapchat and ordering drugs that were being delivered to outside our doorstep that came after we had gone to sleep at night," said Walker.

Walker encouraged other parents to have open conversations with their children about the dangers of fentanyl.

"It is so scary what is happening to so many kids," she said.

Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), whose district encompasses most of San Mateo County, was among the speakers, which included health experts and law enforcement.

"A lot of what we're trying to do is what we can do around Narcan and providing access to Narcan," said Becker. "But some of these bills that I'm co-authoring are around increased penalties for people supplying fentanyl."

The recently passed Melanie's Law requires all state middle and high schools to come up with a plan to prevent and respond to fentanyl overdoses.