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It’s remarkable that there is not more awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and taking pills with no prescription. From our newspaper perch and considering the number of people opioids kill or send to the hospital, we thought there would be more parents talking to their children about it.

Unintentional opioid overdose deaths in Oregon numbered 1,049 in 2023. That was an increase over 2022. And most of the problem has been attributed to fentanyl.

A survey conducted of Oregon residents in March and April of 300 teens, people aged 13-17; 452 young adults, people aged 18-24; and 600 parents showed some curious results. Yes, most teens did rank use of illicit drugs as dangerous and said it would be very risky to take prescription medications without a prescription.

Most teens, 61%, though, had not seen, heard or read any advertisements or public service announcements about fentanyl being used to make fake or counterfeit pills. Only 45% of teens reported having talked to their parents about taking drugs without a prescription.

A survey is just a survey, of course. This one was conducted for Song for Charlie, a national nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about pills with fentanyl in them. The margin of error for teens was the highest among the groups at 5.65 percentage points.

For teens and parents, a concern was how to have that talk about fentanyl. Want some ideas? There are some strong recommendations at the new website recently launched by the nonprofit Song for Charlie, thenewdrugtalk.org.