Santa Barbara Unified School Board votes on resolution to place Narcan stations in schools
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -
The Santa Barbara Unified School Board is voting on a resolution to get approval to place life saving Narcan stations in schools.
Teens and young adults are at risk of taking drugs or counterfeit medications that contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl or other opioids.
Nationwide, a growing number of children and young adults are dying from accidental overdoses.
Elizabeth Christen is a parent and a nurse, concerned about the rise of opioid overdoses plaguing the nation.
“It's terrifying to know that your child who just thinks they're having fun, can accidentally take something that's deadly,” said Christen.
Christen is outspoken about having Narcan stations in schools.
She explains how easy it is to administer Narcan to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose:
“You take the dispenser you inserted into the nostril up to your until your fingers hit the bottom of the nose and you just press. So it's very easy. There's no measuring. You just have to actuate the dispenser.”
High school student Kavya Saresh sees the Narcan stations as a necessary tool to save lives.
“If you take even a small bit of fentanyl, you can overdose, you can have serious critical effects. You can be put in the hospital, you might have like irreversible organ failure and all of these things,” said Saresh.
Saresh is hopeful the school board will allow schools to have Narcan.
“It's just so critical that we care for everybody in that situation and that we make sure we're not neglecting anyone's life because of a lack of resources,” said Saresh.
The school board meeting starts Tuesday evening.
The district is not anticipating any pushback for the Narcan provision.
