Skip to main content
Parents » Drug Prevention & Awareness

Drug Prevention & Awareness

At Kaufman ISD, the safety of our students is a top priority. Students today face a variety of challenges including mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse and bullying. Part of the solution is spreading awareness and educating both students and their families of the harmful effects. Below are resources for families to use to help promote prevention of drug use and an understanding of health and mental wellness. 
 

drugsWhat is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is a deadly, synthetic opioid pressed into fake pills or cut into heroin, cocaine, and other street drugs to drive addiction. It is now one of the most common drugs involved in drugs overdose deaths in the United States.
 
Fentanyl misuse may result in an intense, short-term high; temporary feelings of euphoria; slowed respiration and reduced blood pressure, nausea, fainting; seizures or death.
 

FAQ - Fentanyl Awareness

  • Encourage open and honest communication about drug awareness.
  • Provide facts about Fentanyl and why it is dangerous.
  • Discourage taking any pills not prescribed by a doctor.
  • Help your child create an "exit plan" to know what to do if pressured to use drugs.
  • Be sure they understand Fentanyl has been found in most illegal drugs.
This guide is intended to give parents, caregivers, educators, and other influencers a better sense of how emojis are being used in conjunction with illegal drugs.


EMOJI DRUG CODE CHART

drugs
Know what to look for:
  • Small, constricted "pinpoint pupils"
  • Face extremely pale and/or feels cold or clammy to the touch
  • Body goes limp
  • Fingernails or lips have a purple or blue color
  • Vomiting or making gurgling noises
  • Cannot be awakened or unable to speak
  • Breathing or heartbeat slows or stops
According to the DEA laboratory, it has found that of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills analyzed last year, six out of ten now contain a potentially lethal does of fentanyl. Just 2 milligrams, an amount that can fit on the tip of a pencil, can be enough to kill an average American.
  • Fake pills are easy to purchase, widely available, often contain fentanyl and can be deadly
  • Fake prescription pills are easily accessible and often sold on social media and ecommerce platforms, making them available to anyone with a smartphone, including minors.
  • Many fake pills are made to look like prescription drugs
For more information, visit www.dea.gov/onepill

Vaping

According to the American Lung Associated, research shows that one in four teens has vaped, and the number of middle school students using e-cigarettes further increased to 5.4 million in 2019, prompting the U.S. Surgeon General to call youth vaping an "epidemic".


What You Need To Know About Vaping

  • E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that use a heating element to heat e-liquid, typically containing nicotine, from a cartridge that produces a chemical-filled aerosol.
  • Many e-liquids or "e-juice" come in fruit flavors, making them appealing to kids.
  • E-cigarettes come in many forms and can look like everyday products, like pens, USB flash drives, phones and tubes of lipstick.
  • Currently, the most popular e-cigarette among teens is the JUUL, which looks like a USB drive and produces visible aerosol when being used. Many JUUL pods contain roughly the same amount of nicotine as one pack of cigarettes.
Vaping is unsafe, especially for young people.
  • Kids often don't realize that they are harming their lungs and their brains by using e-cigarettes.
  • Kids may not realize that the products they are using contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm brain development in young people.
  • Secondhand emissions form e-cigarettes can contain nicotine and ultrafine particles linked to serious lung disease.
Source: American Lung Association
According to Partnership to End Addiction, the practice of using vaping devices to consume marijuana or cannabis products is becoming increasingly widespread. Recent data shows that more than one-fifth of high school seniors have reported vaping marijuana in the past year.
 
What is the impact?
  • Difficulty with critical thinking skills like attention, problem solving and memory
  • Impaired reaction time and coordination, especially as it relates to driving
  • Decline in school performance
  • Increased risk of mental health issues including depression or anxiety and, in some cases, psychosis where there is a family history of it
  • Shortness of breath
  • Weight loss
  • Night sweats
  • Fatigue
  • Gastrointestinal problems
  • Low oxygen levels
  • Lung failure and death (in sever cases)
Source: Partnerships to End Addiction
Effective as of September 1, 2023, any student caught in possession of a vape within 300 feet of school property will be placed in an alternative schooling environment, or Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP).
 
For more information regarding House Bill 114, visit https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB114/id/2820174