Branham High student wins high school art contest about deadly danger of fentanyl

For release on July 18, 2022

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Sean Webby
Public Communications Officer
(408) 209-8064

Branham High student wins high school art contest about deadly danger of fentanyl

District Attorney Jeff Rosen has awarded a sophomore from Branham High School $1,500 for her poster showing the deadly toxicity of Fentanyl at the “Justice for All” Award Ceremony and Art Show.

San Jose’s Anna Fandli is this year’s winner of the “Justice for All” high school art test. Its theme was “What is the Face of Fentanyl?”

The District Attorney’s Office will use the winning submission in an anti-overdose campaign. The second place winner received $1,000 and the third place winner received $500. All other entrants will be given Starbucks gift cards.

District Attorney Rosen said: “A child died in this county after taking less than half a pill of fentanyl. Now multiply that tragedy by tens of thousands and you have a true portrait of the plague of our time. These young artists are giving a face to that plague and helping us try to save lives.”

Santa Clara County is seeing a devastating increase in fatal fentanyl overdoses. Pre-teens, teenagers, and college students are purchasing what they think are pain medications off the streets, but they are given poisonous fake pills that are laced with fentanyl instead.

Just a few grains of fentanyl, an extremely powerful synthetic opioid, can cause a fatal overdose. This risk is heightened when the drug is mixed with other substances.

Our second-place winner was Eunice Shin, a freshman from Westmont High School. Her painting showed the horrific damage that the drug can wreak. Our third-place winner, Zoe Chew, a freshman from Prospect High School, wanted to try getting through to her classmates who are taking risky drugs with a new message. She called fentanyl “the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Fandli said: “Fentanyl is decaying lives, bright futures, families, and communities.”

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