She unknowingly became addicted to fentanyl as a teenager. A first-in-the-nation program for Santa Clara County youth helped her get sober.

""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. She started skipping school, failing classes and getting in trouble with teachers."

"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."

"DeAnna tried to escape from fentanyl's grasp several times, with each attempt ending in relapse. 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. In 2021, the Santa Clara County-run hospital launched a first-in-the-nation program that caters to teens and young adults under the age of 21 who are struggling with opioid addiction."

DeAnna Duran began using pills at 15 believing them to be Percocet and became trapped in addiction, relapsing repeatedly and ultimately dropping out of high school. The pills were counterfeit and contained fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid that now causes more than half of U.S. overdose deaths. In Santa Clara County, 807 people died from fentanyl overdoses between Jan. 1, 2018, and Oct. 25, 2025, representing nearly 75% of opioid overdose deaths and an average victim age of 38. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center launched a youth inpatient opioid treatment program in 2021 for people under 21.

Read at The Mercury News