Pleasanton Students Release Video on the Perils of Teen Opioid Addiction

PLEASANTON (CBS SF) -- Students from Foothill High School in Pleasanton released a video this week with a strong message about opioids as the community tackles rising opioid abuse. 

The video, "Teenage RX," features students from the Foothill drama club acting out real scenarios. The film shows a teenage girl being ostracized and bullied at school before she buys some pills from a friend. She then passes out during class, prompting the teacher to call 911, but she dies before first responders arrive.

The school dedicated the video to Chase Frei, a Foothill student who died of an opioid overdose in 2017. His mother, Patti Mitchell Frei, appears in the video. She later said it wasn't easy making it but she knew she needed to help after losing a son to drug addiction.

"Chase walked in these very hallways where you sit today and unfortunately that's where it all started," Frei says in the video. "If we save just one person, it's worth it."

Plans for the video began in 2018, prompted by first responders from the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department (LPFD) being affected by the rising number of teenagers dying from opioid abuse.

"We are trying to make a difference," LPFD EMS manager Jodee Ayers-Agnew said.

Emma Gil with Axis Community Health said the message comes at a critical time.

"Especially during this time when substance use has risen kids are at home parents are at home and medicine cabinets are unlocked," Gil said.

"And then you see a slippery slope, where people might take one or two maybe celebrate a  party with friends and they end up becoming addicted," LPFD Fire Chief Joe Testa added.

The LFPD provided a discussion guide for the video, which can be downloaded here.