On January 18th, SASA had a guest speaker come to Bishop Gorman to educate the club members about the dangers of drug use for teens, and how prominent drugs are in Nevada.

David Gouldthorpe, LVMPD Forensic Laboratory Chemistry Manager came to Bishop Gorman to highlight the dangers of different types of illegal drugs and how popular they are in Nevada. In his presentation, he highlighted different drugs such as fentanyl, cocaine, cannabis, and MDMA.

In his presentation, he discussed some dangers these drugs bring with them.
According to Mr. Gouldthorpe’s presentation, fentanyl can be affected by dizziness, sedation, vomiting, unconsciousness, urinary retention, and respiratory depression. A fentanyl overdose can cause stupor (a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility), cold and clammy skin, cyanosis, coma, and death.

“The most interesting thing that he talked about was how common drugs are today. It was really interesting to learn about which drugs were most common in the different regions of the country,” said Sammy Braun ‘26.

Long term or regular use of cannabis can lead to a dependence of the drug, withdrawals, and psychological addiction. Cannabis can affect a person’s perception and coordination. This causes serious impairments in learning, processing, and psychomotor behavior.

Zofia Medrala ‘24 added, “Mr. Gouldthorpe’s presentation kept me interested all throughout; however, it really brought to my attention how large of a problem drugs are to people of all ages. It is so important to keep yourself away from them as well as family and friends. The trouble that comes along is really not worth getting yourself involved in any way.”

The top 10 drugs in Nevada are methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, cannabis, cocaine, fluorofentanyl, psilocin, alprazolam, oxycodone, and MDMA.

“Do not worry about what the feeling is from drugs, just don’t do them,” said Gouldthorpe.