"At first, I didn't want to do it, and I think it got to the point where (my friends) were doing it, so why can't I? DeAnna, who is now 21, recounted in a recent interview. After a while, I was doing it more and more and more. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't an addict. But she couldn't stop, and definitely didn't want to experience the pain of opioid withdrawal."
"But the pills that DeAnna believed to be percs were counterfeits. She had unknowingly become addicted to fentanyl a powerful synthetic opioid that accounts for more than half of all overdose deaths in the United States. In Santa Clara County, 807 people died from a fentanyl overdose between Jan. 1, 2018, and Oct. 25, 2025, which makes up nearly 75% of all opioid overdose deaths in that same time period. The average age of those who died is 38."
"Then last December, as withdrawal symptoms started to set in once again, her mother, Jennifer Duran, showed her a video of Dr. Lee Trope talking about Santa Clara Valley Medical Center's youth inpatient opioid treatment program. DeAnna Duran, 21 of San Jose, pictured at right with her mother, Jennifer Duran enrolled in Santa Clara County's opioid addiction treatment program for youth under the age of 21 last year and has been maintaining her sobriety."
At 15, DeAnna Duran began taking little blue pills she believed were Percocet and became increasingly dependent. She could not stop and feared the pain of opioid withdrawal, began skipping and failing school, and eventually dropped out. The pills were counterfeit and contained fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid responsible for over half of U.S. overdose deaths. In Santa Clara County, 807 fentanyl overdose deaths occurred between Jan. 1, 2018, and Oct. 25, 2025, nearly 75% of local opioid deaths. After repeated relapses, her mother showed a video about a youth inpatient opioid treatment program, and DeAnna enrolled and has maintained sobriety.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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