Marin teen leads fentanyl awareness campaign

A second Ross Valley teen has stepped up to promote Marin fentanyl awareness efforts after the death of a close relative from the opioid.

Cate Logan, a senior at Archie Williams High School, has taken over the school’s Project1Life chapter launched last year. Much of her work is posting on social media, Logan said.

“My interest is in making the content as available as possible,” said Logan, 17, of San Anselmo. “The majority of the content I create — Instagram specifically — is designed for my peers.”

Most of her postings for the local audience on Instagram are at @Project1lifearchiewilliams. She also posts on the national Instagram page of the nonprofit organization.

Like Project1Life.org founder Avery Kalafatas, Logan became passionate about fentanyl awareness in the wake of extreme grief.

Logan’s uncle, Lance Buoncristiani of San Francisco, died from a fentanyl overdose at the age of 30. He took a drug, but didn’t know it was laced with fentanyl — an opioid 100 times as potent as morphine that can kill in minutes.

“He was like a brother,” Logan said.

Kalafatas, whose family lives in Ross, lost a close cousin to fentanyl several years ago. The loss motivated her to form the nonprofit.

Project1Life’s name is explained in its website slogan, “You only have 1 life, and 1 pill can end it all.”

“Unfortunately, you can overdose on fentanyl from one pill that you are taking as an experiment,” Logan said.

Fentanyl is the reason why accidental overdoses have become the leading cause of death for residents 55 and younger in Marin County, public health officials said.

The Marin County Health and Human Services Department has launched a campaign with OD Free Marin, the Marin Community Foundation and the Independent Journal to tackle the public health crisis fueled by the illicit drug.

“Seven out of 10 of Marin overdose deaths involve fentanyl,” said Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s public health officer. “We are seeing on average one overdose a week, and that number has basically been unchanged in the last three years.”

Jessica Mendieta, a senior at Novato High School and co-lead of OD Free Marin’s Youth Action Team, said her group is happy to see additional youths such as Logan getting involved.

“We love seeing young people stepping forward to lead the charge and create change,” Mendieta said. “OD Free Marin welcomes Project1Life’s efforts to reduce the number of opioid-related overdoses and educate young people on this issue.”

She said her group is excited about the shared mission to increase awareness on the dangers of opioid drug abuse and fentanyl.

“Young people listen to young people,” she said. “This is exactly the kind of action we need to reach our youth.”

Mendieta said the Youth Action Team includes and supports youth efforts in a variety of ways, including running clubs at high schools. The team also creates community events to bring awareness, gives presentations and makes the overdose reversal spray Narcan available at various events.

“We are also in the process of creating youth-driven videos for the ‘Where’s the Fentanyl?’ campaign to share on social media,” Mendieta said. Her group has already reached out to Logan, she added.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Mendieta said. “The crisis is bigger than any one agency or group. The more dedicated individuals we have working on this, the better.”

The OD Free Marin Youth Action Team meets the first Thursday of every month after school hours. More information is online at odfreemarin.org.