Sonoma Report
Micah’s Hugs will host its second annual Food Not Fentanyl event Aug. 30 in Petaluma, bringing together harm-reduction education, live performances and a memorial exhibit focused on fentanyl’s impact in Sonoma County and beyond.
The fundraiser is scheduled for 3:30 to 8 p.m. at Pronzini Ranch, 3795 Adobe Road. It is being organized by the nonprofit in partnership with Petaluma’s Sax’s Joint. Admission is $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Children 12 and younger may attend for free.
The program will include demonstrations of how Narcan, the opioid-overdose reversal medication, is administered, along with what organizers describe as stories of hope. Food trucks will be on site, and Wonder Bread 5 and the Illeagles are scheduled to perform.
Micah’s Hugs was founded by Michelle and Micah Sawyer after the death of Micah Sawyer Jr., who was 22 when he died in 2019 after relapsing following six months of sobriety. According to the North Bay Bohemian, the drug he obtained was laced with fentanyl.
Michelle Sawyer said the organization has distributed about 48,000 doses of Narcan. The group also provides fentanyl test strips and has helped place free-supply boxes at locations including businesses, a Sebastopol library and neighborhood free libraries.
Sawyer told the Bohemian that schools began allowing the organization to provide education and training after four teenagers overdosed in one day, two of them fatally. She also said attitudes toward Narcan have shifted as awareness of fentanyl’s risks has grown.
The event will feature the Memorial Poster Project, an installation of life-size portraits of people who died from fentanyl. The portraits include personal descriptions such as “loving,” “smart” and “kind,” presenting the victims as individuals rather than statistics.
The Bohemian reported that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has warned that counterfeit or illicit pills may contain fentanyl. The article also cited national data showing overdose deaths rose sharply between 2012 and 2022, reaching nearly 200 deaths per day at the peak.