Culver City students to get free fentanyl test devices

Culver City students will have access to free fentanyl test devices as part of a pilot program adopted this week by the Culver City Unified School District Board of Education.

Providing the pocket-sized test devices district-wide is meant to be a proactive tool for students and families to use amid "a rapidly escalating fentanyl crisis," Office of School Board President Triston Ezidore wrote in a news release.

Portable fentanyl test devices will be discreetly provided at district-operated sites, including the Culver City Adult School.

This initiative makes CCUSD one of the first school districts in the region to adopt such a policy, according to the news release.

Youth fentanyl-related deaths increased by more than 625 percent in recent years and are the leading cause of death for Americans 18 to 45 years old, according to the California Department of Public Health.

"Keeping our students safe means meeting this crisis with honesty, compassion, and real tools," Ezidore said. "Fentanyl is taking lives across California, often because young people do not know what they're being exposed to."

Fentanyl test devices test drugs for the presence of fentanyl, which cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted when mixed into another drug. Strips typically offer results within five minutes.

CCUSD will update families in the coming weeks regarding distribution locations, educational materials, and other information as the pilot program is rolled out.