DUNWOODY, Ga. — The push to get Narcan in every classroom at Dunwoody High School is intensifying after a second suspected overdose at the school just last week.
Dunwoody Police responded to the school last week after a 16-year-old girl was believed to have ingested a substance, resulting in a medical emergency. Narcan, the medicine used to help reverse an opioid overdose, was administered by the staff and revived her.
Months earlier, in May, 15-year-old Mia Dieguez died after getting two doses of Narcan. A Dekalb County autopsy report showed Dieguez had traces of fentanyl and other drugs in her system. School police arrested a juvenile in connection to her death.
That's when fellow student Mady Cohen created "Mady's Narcan Project."
"It was just really hard to see people I care about grieving. I didn't know or was friends with either one of the girls, but I knew this could make us all feel safer," the high school junior said.
The 16-year-old is pushing to make lasting change and taking action at her school, hoping it will catch on at other schools in metro Atlanta.
"I started it back at the end of May when all this happened. I called Narcan directly, and I got pricing for Narcan and just kind of like the bulk packages. I went to administration with the proposal of getting Narcan in every classroom, as well as training the staff on how to use it and how to detect signs of overdose," Cohen said.
Mady's Narcan Project would make the life-saving drug more widely available at Dunwoody High School. The proposal has been in place, and staff training has already started. All she needs now is the funding to get enough doses.
"If you're on the third floor and you need it and it's at the nurse on the first floor, then obviously you can get it easier -- quicker -- because it's right in your classroom. I think that would even make students and staff feel like a lot better about everything and a lot safer even. So that's why I just thought this was an amazing idea," Cohen said.
Right now Narcan is required to be in all Georgia schools after Wesley's Law was passed and signed by Governor Brian Kemp earlier this year. The law officially went into effect July 1, 2024.
"That a student is pushing that forward, that really warmed my heart," State Senator Clint Dixon said.
Dixon is the author of Wesley's Law and wrote it after his family's own experience with an overdose.
"I named it actually after my wife's cousin, Wesley Gay. He, unfortunately, he took a substance, and unbeknownst to him, it had fentanyl in it, and he lost his life three years ago, actually, not too long ago. I started doing research and started actually hearing on the news of overdoses in my home county, Gwinnett. You know, I graduated from Central Gwinnett, but down the street unfortunately, last year, another school had two overdoses within one semester. You keep hearing that same story throughout Georgia, and it's not just a Georgia issue, it's a national issue, unfortunately," Dixon said.
With Wesley's Law in place, teachers, administrators, parents, and school visitors can possess and administer Narcan.
"They don't have to worry about the threat of being sued, you know, either criminally or civilly down the line. Before, only nurses could have and administer it," Dixon said.
There are no specific dosage requirements for Georgia schools right now after schools in rural areas brought up concerns with funding, but after hearing Mady push for it to be in every classroom in Dunwoody, Dixon is now looking to refine Wesley's Law.
"Maybe we should implement what she's trying to do at her school. Be more specific, you know, as this young lady's pushing forward, where we require, you know, a minimum of one or two doses in each classroom, instead of being so generic, like we were in Wesley's law right now. We could start in colleges. It's something to definitely consider," Dixon said.
While Dixon looks for guidance on what changes should be made in the future, Mady's working on raising $5,000 to get the drug in every classroom at her school. If you'd like to help her, you can Venmo a donation to @DunwoodyPTSO or write a check to the board. The memo should specify it's for "Mady's Narcan Project."
