USC nonprofit continues fight against fentanyl epidemic

In the wake of the tragedy that struck a Hollywood-area high school this week, where a 15-year-old girl was killed after reportedly taking fentanyl-laced Percocet purchased from a park near the school campus, local organizations are upping their efforts to combat the fentanyl epidemic. 

One of those organizations, Team Awareness Combatting Operation (TACO), a nonprofit operating out of the University of Southern California, works through peer-to-peer education, realizing that at some point in their lives, most teens will be exposed to or experiment with drugs. 

“Overdose is a preventable cause of death,” said USC graduate and TACO founder Isabella Gianatiempo, while speaking with CBS reporter Rena Nakano Wednesday. “We’ve tried to say, ‘Oh, just say no to drugs,’ but that doesn’t work. The fact of the matter is that the young developing brain has two options — try drugs or don’t try drugs — more often than not, people will try drugs.”

The nonprofit provides Narcan administration training and free fentanyl test strip delivery on top of other 

“We partnered with delivery services near college campus to deliver these test strips to students doors in 10 minutes or less,” Gianatiempo said.

The TACO website shows that students can order strips to the following locations:

• Tuscon, Ariz.,
• Berkeley, Calif.,
• Los Angeles, Calif.,
• Santa Barbara, Calif.,
• Boulder, Colo.,
• Manhattan, Kan.,
• Oxford, Ohio,
• Norman, Okla.,
• Eugene, Oreg.

She hopes that the work that TACO has done, paired with the tragic news of the death of one and hospitalization of three other Bernstein High School students will encourage other local colleges and high schools to create their own chapters to combat drug overdoses.

“We’re not only trying to spread the test strips, but we’re trying to spread the message that comes with TACO. The tests just won’t work unless there’s that education component as well,” Gianatiempo said.

The sad reality is, the fentanyl epidemic has continued to grow in recent years, with numbers up by 80% in the last two years alone. 

“Over 100,000 a year, to put it in perspective, imagine an airliner going down every day,” said Dr. Moe Gelbart, the Executive Director of the Thelma McMillen Recovery Center, who noted that most people don’t go out in search of fentanyl, but are exposed as the highly toxic synthetic opioid is often laced into other drugs.

Fentanyl isn’t the only narcotic to blame as overdose deaths in general are on the rise, nearing the record level. Experts urge parents to discuss the matter with loved ones. 

“Talk to your children so they will listen, and listen to your children so they will talk,” Gelbart said. “Whatever you do, do not accept pills or drugs from people you don’t know.”

CBSLA Staff

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