Partnership for Awareness invites residents to the upcoming Red Ribbon Week speaker series event titled “Drugs in the Age of Fentanyl” on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. at the newly renovated San Marino Community Center.
The program features Ed Ternan, San Marino parent Cynthia Ary and Dr. Donna Klauser, founder of #ChangeTheRX and member of the California Naloxone Distribution Project.
Ed Ternan, founder of the nonprofit Song For Charlie, is a husband, father and businessman. In May 2020, he lost his 22-year-old son Charlie, who was poisoned by a counterfeit prescription pill. Since then, Ed and his wife Mary have dedicated themselves to informing young people about the new risks of self-medication and recreational drug use in the age of synthetic drugs like fentanyl.
Song for Charlie creates and distributes fentanyl awareness and drug education materials online, on campus and via social media. Their programs are designed to provide useful, fact-based resources to young people, families and educators with the goal of reducing drug use and encouraging healthier strategies for managing stress.
The presentation of “Drugs in the Age of Fentanyl” addresses the risks associated with counterfeit prescription pills and other drugs that contain fentanyl. The speakers will cover the transition from plant-based to chemical-based substances and the economic reasons behind this seismic shift in the drug landscape. They will discuss the properties of fentanyl and distinguish between the pharmaceutical and illicit version of the opioid. They will also provide information about overdose response, facts versus myths, and the need to develop healthy tools for coping with stress. Dr. Klauser will distribute free packages of Narcan, the brand name of the opioid overdose treatment drug Naloxone, to the first 50 guests who attend. Guests will learn more about this lifesaving treatment during the presentation.
First published in the Oct.19 issue of the San Marino Tribune
