A message for students by students
The Oregon City School District students researched, and produced an informational campaign around the impact of fentanyl and the impact of vaping on teen lives.
Read First Hand Accounts about the Impacts of these substances.
THe Empty Void of Fentanyl
By Trishtin Cook
On the exact date of July 6, 2024, at 10:11 PM, we lit the firework—the firework that represented what would have been his 23rd birthday. He had specifically given this firework to his dad on the previous 4th of July, and they were all going to light it together.
Unexpectedly, around January of 2024, his dad gave me a call. This call was the most heartbreaking call I’ve ever received and one of the saddest moments of my life. He was crying on the phone, telling me that his son had passed away at the age of twenty-two.
January 27th 2024, in Salem, Oregon, they found him unconscious and unable to move in the middle of the street. When they found him, his heart had already stopped beating, but they rushed him quickly to the hospital. When he arrived, they got him breathing again, but he was unable to function. It had been too long before they found him.
What caused his death, you might ask? A single laced joint.
He had never taken the risk of using fentanyl, and he was aware of the dangers. Today, most illicit substances purchased from dealers on the street are laced with traces of fentanyl. While "traces" doesn't sound that bad, understand that only two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage. That amount of fentanyl can fit on the end of a sharpened pencil tip. My friend only ever used marijuana to relax. While there are healthier ways to cope with stress and relax, this was his method and he never dipped into other drugs that could be harmful to him. Even people who are educated about fentanyl can still be affected by it. Considering they found him in the street, I'm assuming he was given a joint, or he bought it off of a dealer in the streets instead of a dispensary. This is extremely dangerous and he most likely knew he was taking a risk, but didn't think too much of it. How could anyone expect a single joint to be the cause of their death? Especially if you think your supplier is safe.
Members of his family were blaming themselves for his death, but it wasn’t their fault. He died because of a harmful substance that kills around 107,641 people a year in the U.S.—fentanyl.
One of his younger sisters always remembered playing basketball with him when she got back from school. Now, she looks back on all the texts they sent each other, wishing she had more time with her older brother. The same goes for his other sisters—they needed more time with him, and fentanyl took that away from them.
My cousin and I spent the least amount of time with him, and to this day, that is my biggest regret. My cousin remembers moments with him when he taught her how to drive. He was extremely good at driving, and his car was really nice. I personally remember waking up in the middle of the night at his dad’s place and seeing him gaming on the Xbox. That’s one of the things he always enjoyed doing. Every time he was home, he would play Apex. I would just watch him play for hours, and now, every time I see that game, I think of him.
Another memorable aspect of him was his humor. For example, one day he offered me and my cousin a hot Cheeto, he seemed really happy to give it to us, and we both ended up eating it but it tasted different than usual. He stood there watching us and me and my cousin were sort of confused. When he started laughing, and a couple seconds later, our mouths felt like they were on fire. This Cheeto was not a regular Cheeto, he gave us a Cheeto with ghost pepper hot sauce on it, without us realizing. When he told us we were laughing just as much as he was, except with a cup of milk in our hand.
Looking back on this harmless prank, I realized that he was really the only one who could prank us effortlessly and make it funny while doing it. We always talk about moments like these and we miss his humor. Nobody else in the family was as funny as him and I remember the week we visited his dads house after he had passed. It didn't feel the same. Nobody was making jokes like he used to and everyone was still getting over his death, which made it even more emotionless. We would just sit down in his dads room and talk for hours without real conversation. Fentanyl created an empty void where he once filled our lives with laughter and humor. We will always cherish the memories we shared with him and we still have objects to remember him by, the Xbox, a couple of shirts, and letters spelling his name on his sister’s wall.
Many days, we text his phone, replying to old chats, hoping he can text back, even though deep inside, we know he can’t.
I cannot express how much I miss him, and I cannot imagine what his family went through experiencing this. What I can do is share his story and try my hardest to prevent more deaths like his. Fentanyl is not a joke. There are other ways to cope besides drugs. If you are feeling like you need a substance to feel better, I urge you to seek help and find healthier ways to cope. Reach out to a friend, a teacher, a counselor, or someone else you trust. There are also many resources available to help you navigate through this time.
You are Not Alone
By Trishtin Cook
In September of 2024, my best friend walked across the street to the hospital with her friend, and together they threw their vape down the hill. This marked the spot and day they would begin the end of their addiction. This was planned for a long time, and they had promised each other they would stop smoking once school started again. This promise remained a promise for a decent while, and just after everyone was convinced that their smoking days were over, they broke their promise. You see, they soon understood that it’s much easier said than done to quit vaping.
She has told many of her friends and family that this has been extremely challenging, yet she’s tried her hardest to stay on track. As a close friend, I could see that she was genuinely trying her hardest, and she would do anything she could to refrain from picking up a vape again. She started to use her free time to draw, read, go on walks, call our group chat, watch movies, learn how to skateboard, and even taught herself how to play guitar, just to keep her mind focused on anything but vaping.
She managed to last approximately five months without smoking any form of nicotine. Yet on March 8, 2025, she started vaping again. She didn’t tell me right away, and I didn’t expect her to because it was really difficult for her to tell anyone, and I understand that. Also, just because she started vaping again doesn’t mean she can’t quit later on or reduce the amount she’s smoking.
One should keep in mind that nicotine is one of the most addictive and frequently used substances a person can take. Many people, including my friend, have struggled to quit taking nicotine at such a young age. She described that every day of the five months she was clean, she felt an overwhelming craving. At times, she was unable to think of anything else but the craving. Sometimes all she could focus on was the want for nicotine, and without it, she didn’t have the motivation to do much of anything. She mentioned to me that she missed days of school because of this, and although some people don’t think addiction to nicotine is that overwhelming, there are many people who disagree and say that it’s one of the hardest things to quit. My friend described this struggle as something nonsmokers wouldn’t understand because smokers feel as if they need nicotine in order to do anything, and the addiction is not like caffeine or anything she’s really felt before. Without nicotine, my friend would also have mini crash outs and get mad for no reason, but really it was just her craving for nicotine that made her so grumpy. She once told me that whenever she would read, or watch movies, and hang out with friends, the craving would overpower the motivation, and she wouldn’t want to do that thing anymore because she was too busy thinking about the nicotine addiction.
When she started vaping again, this was obviously a difficult time for her. She didn’t want to keep vaping, and neither did her family and friends. When I found out, I was personally shocked to hear that she did it again because she lasted so long without nicotine. We called after I heard about it, and we talked for a decent while, which helped me understand her point of view. I also understand how it feels to want to prove yourself to others, and just admitting to her loved ones that she started again is a big step forward despite her smoking still. Some of her family members were devastated and others not so much, but most of them were just curious about why.
In the beginning, she was quitting with someone else — someone who had felt the same about nicotine and was dealing with an addiction just like her. A month before my friend picked up the vape again, this person realized that the craving was just too much for them, and they gave in and started vaping again. Her friend started vaping around her more and more as time went on, and it became a natural thing again, which could have been the reason she felt like starting vaping again wasn’t such a big deal as they made it seem.
It’s easier for someone to commit to something if they tell another person that cares because it gives them motivation to keep going or some accountability, because you don’t want to let them down. But when that person you told doesn’t really care anymore, you can’t find a reason to continue the thing you committed to, even if you still want to.
For example, if your friend goes to the gym with you every day but then just randomly quits and never comes back. They show carelessness, and it can rub off on you more than you think because now you’re going alone every day, and it can easily influence you that going isn’t as important as you thought at first — especially when this happens to a people pleaser. You still want to go to the gym, but without that person, it’s not the same anymore. This is the sort of situation my friend went through while trying to quit vaping. Many people, including myself, have told her that we care about her, and although her friend gave up on her, that doesn’t mean we all have.
She always told me that the times she is most vulnerable to the substance are when she is bored and when she thinks about doing it again. Watching movies, hanging out with friends, reading, drawing, and all of her other techniques she used to quit really weren’t helping anymore, and from her perspective, she was doing it completely alone for an entire month. It’s almost like someone tells you they’ll meet you somewhere but they just never show up. It’s a mix of disappointment and loneliness because now you don’t know if you can trust that person anymore, especially after breaking a promise or an agreement.
Lots of people think that their peers’ opinions matter more than their own when, really, it isn’t healthy to think this way. We all matter. If you’re in the same situation as my friend, you need to understand that. If you’re not in this situation but you see it happening, always try to help your loved ones and show them that they matter. People dealing with problems like this can feel like they are completely alone when they really aren’t.
Either way, I think that the most that nonsmokers can do to help is listen to the person who is addicted and talk with them, because not all of us can relate like others experiencing the addiction.
This applies to everyone — not just people dealing with addiction — the people who may go to the gym alone, or sit alone at lunch, or the people who are suffering from depression and anxiety, or people who don’t have a mom, dad, or friends. I want you to understand that you are not alone, even when you may feel that you are.