Series: Narcan and Durango schools

Two years ago, Zoe Ramsey and Niko Peterson lost a friend to fentanyl poisoning. Through heartbreak and resolve, they realized that more could be done to protect teens in Durango and across Colorado.

The new law grew out of a teen harm reduction movement in Durango, and several Durango teens helped write the bill. It provides good samaritan protections for teens and eliminates liability risk for schools and districts.

Last year, teen harm reduction activists in Durango successfully lobbied the 9R School District to allow students permission to carry and administer Narcan. Now they've helped draft a bill to help change school drug policies across the state.

Ilias Stritikus recently told a Colorado legislative committee that state laws should be changed to protect students who administer Narcan on school campuses. The drug is used to reverse opioid overdoses.

The school board vote comes after nearly a year of activism by a group of high school students in Durango. District administrators envision a policy that promotes training and limits legal exposure for schools.

Durango’s 9R school district is proceeding cautiously on permitting students to carry an opioid-reversal drug called Narcan. The district has expressed concerns about possible adverse situations.

At Durango’s 9R School District, administrators have taken a careful and measured approach to whether to allow students to carry Narcan on campus. One charter high school that operates outside the district has given students a bit of leeway on the issue.

Students launched a harm-reduction campaign in Durango to push for permission to carry Narcan on campus and expressed concern about the slow response of administrators. Superintendent Karen Cheser told us that allowing students to carry Narcan is a complex issue, but there has been progress.

After the Durango community lost one teenager to an opioid overdose, many high school students wondered how to prevent another. As a harm-reduction movement emerged, students began pushing for permission to carry Narcan in school. After months of back and forth with school administrators, teens decided to make their fight for drug policy change public.

A single overdose in 2021 led to a teen harm reduction movement. Here is an account of two teens close to the individuals involved.