The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a new campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl. State officials warn more and more young Iowans are experimenting with pills for a variety of reasons, but the source of those tablets is rarely from a local pharmacy. State Medical Director Dr. Robert Kruse says, “This is especially dangerous because many of these pills available to young people are counterfeit and contain deadly levels of fentanyl.” A lethal dose of the opioid is just 2 mg; that is 50 times more potent than heroin. The new campaign features Deric and Kathy Kidd, who lost their 17-year-old son to a fentanyl overdose in 2021, with muti-platform programming targeted toward teens and young adults. HHS also released conversation guides for parents to help them talk with their children about the dangers of fentanyl and drug abuse. Links to those resources can be found included below.
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