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More than 110,000 people in the U.S. died of a drug overdose in 2022, according to the CDC, where 70 percent of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

“You are being lied to,” Michael DeLeon told Grangeville and Clearwater Valley high school students Nov. 30.

On Oct. 30, the Kamiah High School gymnasium bleachers filled up with middle and high school students happily ending their school day with an assembly.

On Monday, the Hansen School District held a presentation with staff and parents of students about the vaping and fentanyl epidemic happening in Idaho and across the country.

“If you listen to what I say, it might save your life one day.” That’s what Michael DeLeon, a recovered drug addict and former gang member, told the audience Tuesday at College View Middle School.

DeLeon, who spent 12 years in prison for a gang-related homicide and drugs, developed his nonprofit Steered Straight as a way to tell his story to students around the world to make an impact on their lives.

Michael DeLeon, the founder and CEO of the Steered Straight educational nonprofit organization, told Teton County students, administrators, teachers, school staff and parents he is on a mission to educate the American public, adults and kids alike, about the effects of drugs and vaping on young minds.

NPC founder Dorrie Carolan told The Newtown Bee that a late October program featuring guest presenter Michael DeLeon got students thinking, talking, and taking action.

Michael DeLeon finds himself counseling parents about what they should be doing. This year, he will visit more than 700 schools around the country, including Southport High School, where he will speak next week.

As the latest public health crisis sweeps the nation, the Key Biscayne community and beyond grapples with the rise of teenagers hooked on vaping nicotine, CBD and THC-infused liquids.