Navigating The Teen Fentanyl Crisis

#15: Drug use among teens is actually down but overdose deaths have spiked, doubling nationwide in 2020, largely due to the spread of counterfeit pills. In Los Angeles, a 15-year-old girl died after consuming a pill laced with fentanyl. In a surprise move, the Los Angeles Unified School District now says it will distribute Narcan, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, to junior and senior high schools. So, how did we get here? How to LA host Brian De Los Santos explores that question and how to talk to kids about this epidemic. 

Guests: Joseph Friedman, UCLA researcher and author of a recent JAMA study on teen drug use and overdose deaths; Keegan Hamilton, who covers organized crime and the drug trade at VICE.

Correction: Alberto Carvalho’s name was mispronounced in an earlier version of this episode.