At just 13 years old, Mariah Georgia is already using her voice to advocate for drug prevention, overdose awareness, and better education in her community.
Growing up around prevention work and experiencing the devastating loss of her brother to an overdose at a young age gave Mariah a deeply personal connection to the issue. Instead of allowing that experience to remain only a source of grief, she has begun using her story to educate others, challenge stigma, and advocate for change.
In this episode of the Drug Prevention Power Hour, guest host Reggie McDonald talks with Mariah about her journey into youth drug prevention advocacy, her experience volunteering with Micah’s Hugs, attending the Fentanyl Free America convention after being nominated by a DEA agent, and speaking at a town council meeting in support of a Narcan box at a local library.
Key Takeaways
- Personal loss can become purpose and advocacy
- Open conversations help reduce addiction stigma
- Youth voices can create meaningful community change
- Narcan education can challenge fear and misinformation
- Mental health is an important part of substance use prevention
- Speaking from the heart can make a powerful impact
- Advocacy requires persistence even when people say no
- Self-care and processing grief matter too
Introduction and Personal Background
Raegann: Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Drug Prevention Power Hour. Now it says this podcast is hosted by Jake White, but in case you missed it, I’m not Jake. I’m Raegann. Think of me as Jake’s younger, cooler, funnier replacement for this episode and many more. Now that we have that squared away, I’d like to introduce to you a student leader who works in prevention outside of a coalition, completely individually, and has accomplished some truly amazing things at the age of only thirteen years old. Everybody, please give a very warm welcome to Mariah from California.
Raegann: Hey, how are you today?
Mariah: Good. How are you?
Raegann: I’m good. Go ahead and tell me a little bit about you and the prevention work that you do.
Journey in Drug Prevention
Mariah: Well, I’m thirteen and I’m from California. I started—my mom actually was working with a coalition when I was about seven years old. And that coalition ended up running out of funds. So we eventually had to stop working with them. But I kind of grew up working with coalitions and learning about drugs because my brother had passed away to overdose when he was sixteen and I was five and a half.
After that, my mom was passing out Narcan on her own, like outside of a coalition. And then we were at the fair and we ran into another coalition, and they lost their son to overdose. He was clean and then he relapsed and ended up overdosing. So we ended up starting working with them. And then I eventually got to volunteer with them about three, four times, and then I ended up speaking at an event.
A DEA agent had mentioned speaking at schools about Red Ribbon Week and all of that stuff. And she was shocked that I was twelve when I had my first speech. And she had found out that there was a youth part of this nomination. So she decided to nominate me.
Raegann: That’s awesome.
Mariah: So I got nominated by the DEA. So I went to Florida for a week for a convention called Fentanyl Free America. And yeah, I learned a lot about the drugs there and stuff I can do to try and stop it and ways I can help people and all that stuff.
Raegann: That’s awesome, by the way. Like, congratulations for everything you’ve already been honored with and you’re not even in high school yet. Like, that’s insane to me.
Mariah: Thank you.
Raegann: But so you said you’ve kind of been doing this your whole life, right?
Mariah: Yeah. It’s just kind of been something that your family does.
Raegann: When would you say that you kinda made it your own?
Mariah: Probably about last year. Last year when I spoke. I spoke in September. It was yeah, September twentieth.
Turning Tragedy Into Purpose
Mariah: It was really hard on me because it was seven days before my brother’s birthday. And so that was like a struggle. But then after I had spoken, I felt a lot like I was doing a lot of good in the world and people had really positive things to say about that. And then I was getting asked to do a bunch of things. So I kind of just started doing a lot and trying to help out more.
Raegann: Yeah, it was kind of like a trickle effect. Like she did it once, like a bunch of doors open. I think it’s cool that you say that like it was really hard for you, but you saw the good that it was doing. You know? And it’s really admirable that you’re able to put aside like your own fears or like what bothers you for the good of other people. Especially like just meeting you like two minutes ago, right? And seeing the fact that like you’re already that selfless. And you’re able to like put those needs above your own is really cool to me.
“After I had spoken, I felt a lot like I was doing a lot of good in the world and people had really positive things to say about that.”
First Public Speaking: Walk for Lives
Raegann: So like okay, let’s break it down a little bit. So you’re twelve years old, you get asked, “Hey, we want you to give this speech for Red Ribbon Week.” Or just tell me a little bit about that first one.
Mariah: It was this thing called Walk for Lives. It’s doing it across the whole nation. And me and my mom had run into a coalition in June. One of the people that helped the organization said that they were trying to plan a walk for lives in a major city and they needed help. So my mom and I started working on it, and then she wanted someone from a sibling’s point of view to speak. So I ended up speaking.
Raegann: They come to you and they’re like, “Hey, we want you to give this speech.” What’s the first thing that goes through your head? Like, are you immediately like yes? Or is it like I was like no?
Mariah: No, I was really nervous because I had volunteered with them in August and then right after I volunteered for one day. I was only supposed to volunteer for one day. My grandma, she likes to do outreach when she can. So she ended up volunteering the next day. And I was like, “Hey, I was wondering if I could volunteer with my grandma tomorrow?” She’s like, “Yeah, of course.” So I came in and I volunteered a second day at a festival.
And then a little bit after that, they texted my mom and they asked if I could speak from a sibling’s point of view. And then after I spoke, a DEA agent started talking to me about getting to schools locally for like Red Ribbon Week and stuff. But I’m really scared to do stuff locally because it’s kind of hard for me to say like I lost my brother to overdose because then people automatically think that my brother was just an addict and there’s nothing more to it. Yeah. So I get really frustrated with people when it’s like that.
“People automatically think that my brother was just an addict and there’s nothing more to it. But there’s so much more than that.”
The Importance of Open Conversations about Addiction
Raegann: No, I think that’s very fair. Like, that’s the one you really care about. I mean, you obviously want people to see him for more than just the biggest life. And I think it’s really sad that there’s that stigma that reduces a life down to like an addiction.
Mariah: I know it was so much more than that.
Raegann: So did you end up speaking locally for Red Ribbon Week?
Mariah: No, I didn’t. She really wanted me to. And she was trying to get into schools and stuff. And I’m pretty sure she did. But I am trying to get into schools in another area. There was a teacher. She lost her daughter to overdose. And I believe her daughter was nineteen. And she works at a high school. And the high school—they don’t do anything for Red Ribbon Week. They don’t talk about drugs or anything. So she wants to try and go to the board and get that started. And I said, “Well, let me know if you need help. I’m more than willing to.” Because it’s really something that’s not talked about. Because I feel like people think as long as they don’t tell the kids, then it’s not a big issue. But the kids can still do it either way. So it’s better to be talked about.
Raegann: Yes, absolutely. I think when we don’t talk about it, we create that stigma that like we can’t talk about it and that it’s like this embarrassing, like shameful thing. And it’s not. Like, it’s one thing we talk about a lot is that addiction doesn’t discriminate and it can happen to literally anyone. And we have this preconceived notion in our heads that like it has to be this specific person and that it’s their whole life. Yeah. And we forget that it’s like a normal life, you know, and we lose that sense of empathy.
And so I think when we just talk about it in schools and spread that awareness, it kind of brings it more to like a human level. Yeah. Like this could be your best friend. Like this could be your daughter, this could be your son, like all those things instead of like this is a stranger from the coast, you know? So I think it’s really important that we push that.
The Impact of Personal Loss
Raegann: You kind of talked a little bit about your why and like what makes you passionate. What would you say is like your personal mission with prevention work?
Mariah: I have an aunt who’s actively in addiction and just seeing how it is for her daughter and for my whole family, even for me and my mom. My aunt had actually gone missing and we didn’t know where she was or anything. And so my mom went and ended up looking for her and she was really worried that she was gonna find her dead.
But that’s kind of what it comes to sometimes. My aunt has overdosed multiple times in homeless shelters and everything. So I feel like losing my brother and then having my aunt on the verge of possibly overdosing because she’s already done it multiple times—I feel like that just kind of gives me the push. Like, I would want somebody to help my aunt.
But since it’s my aunt, she’s not gonna listen to me. Because at the same time, you can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to help themselves. And that’s the really hard thing. But you can only do so much to try and help a person before you end up hurting yourself and not putting yourself first all the time when you’re supposed to. So I feel like just seeing how it affects everybody in my family, I wouldn’t want it. I don’t want somebody else to feel that.
And also the grief after losing somebody. I wouldn’t want somebody to feel that either. So that’s kind of my goal. I don’t want anybody to feel how I felt and how my family members feel.
Raegann: Yeah. I think that’s very selfless, and very respectable.
“I would want somebody to help my aunt. But you can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to help themselves. And that’s the really hard thing.”
Barriers to Drug Prevention Education
Raegann: You talked about the fact that you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. And you know, you’ve done a lot of work. What are some other barriers that you’ve run into in the process of pushing prevention and getting the word out there?
Mariah: Another thing is when you pass out Narcan, it’s also difficult because some people just assume that you think that they’re an addict. So that’s something that I’ve ran into. People will look at me and they’ll say, “You think I’m using drugs?” It’s like, “No, it’s always good to have it. Like I’m here to teach you. I don’t judge you. Like it’s, yeah, like it shouldn’t be something that you’re worried about somebody knowing.”
Raegann: Right. It should be something that’s not normalized, but something that it’s okay to talk about. Yeah. It’s okay to talk about. It’s okay to have like Narcan in your house just in case. Yeah. I think that’s definitely something that’s so stigmatized. Like we just brought a Narcan dispenser on my college campus and it was immediately like, “My gosh, do they think that we’re all addicts? Like why would they bring this here?” And also like there were people who thought they were like allergy sprayers, like nasal sprays. Like people had no idea what they were and were misusing them. And it was like, “This is the problem is that we don’t have education about it.”
Mariah: Yeah. We don’t have education and it’s very stigmatized. And so we’re not gonna talk about it. And since we’re not gonna talk about it, we don’t know anything about it.
Raegann: And so I think the fact that like you want to teach people about it and hand it out is a great, great thing. And it’s just something that we have to continue to push out. You know, like years ago we didn’t even talk about mental health. And now it’s something that’s very much part of the conversation—unless mental health is a big part of it too.
The Role of Mental Health in Substance Use
Raegann: Yeah, exactly. I think that’s exactly what it is. How do you feel like mental health ties into your prevention work?
Mariah: I feel like mental health is all kind of the start of it because I feel like sometimes people kind of use drugs as an escape to any sort of depression or any feelings that they’re feeling because they want to get rid of that void. They want to get rid of everything so they don’t feel anything. And then they end up getting addicted.
Raegann: Yeah. Absolutely. I think that a lot of times like we push like “don’t do drugs, they’re bad,” and whatever. But we don’t think about like why people are using. We’re very quick to condemn other people and judge like how they’re coping without thinking about like why do they feel they have to abuse a substance? And so personally, I think it’s important to tackle like the root cause and like deal with our mental health issues so that people don’t feel the need to cope in dangerous ways.
Mariah: Yeah, that’s just a different thing in itself. But when it comes to like not being able to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped and these false assumptions about the stigma, like what have you found works for you in overcoming those challenges, or are you still working on overcoming them?
Overcoming Stigma and Judgment
Raegann: I feel like as hard as it is, you just kinda have to keep pushing through it because people are always gonna have something to say. Even if it has something completely different to do with drugs, people are gonna have something to say about the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk. Because people are always gonna have something to say. So I feel like you kinda have to just learn that people are gonna have something to say and you just have to push through it regardless.
Mariah: Do you feel like you’ve always kind of had that mentality or is that something you had to work on?
Raegann: I had to work on it. Yeah?
Mariah: Yeah. So like in the beginning, was it tough like when you were asked to go into local schools, like was it kind of like a “I don’t know what people are gonna say” type of thing with that?
Raegann: Yeah. Do you feel like you’ve grown in that category though?
Mariah: I’m like slowly growing. I’m not there yet, but over time, I’ve spoke about my loss more recently. And yeah, hopefully when I’m in high school I’ll try and get the high school to talk about it because my mom did actually reach out to my school multiple times about trying to get Red Ribbon Week started and my school won’t email her back. She’s gone to the office and they like won’t say anything or try and do anything.
Advocacy in Schools and Community Engagement
Raegann: Wow. Have they said no?
Mariah: Yeah. No. They it’s just a blank. It’s just a no. Yeah, it’s just a no. And that was what was happening with the schools in another area too. They were saying no. And there was kind of no reason to it. They just said that it doesn’t really need to be talked about. But it does. Yeah. And you know that.
Raegann: Yeah. And then another thing in one community—they didn’t want to get a Narcan box at the library because they thought if you get Narcan in their town that people are gonna purposely overdose and just do it and do it and do it because they know that they can get help. But they also were worried about the kids exploring drugs since there was gonna be Narcan.
Mariah: Yeah. So I ended up speaking at a town council meeting. There were about eighteen people who spoke at a town council meeting. And we ended up getting the Narcan box at the library.
Raegann: Okay. Okay. So you overcame that. Like that’s definitely a misinformation, like lack of education type of situation.
Mariah: Yeah, they had misinformation. Yeah, you guys—other advocates from a local coalition, they had gone to the town meeting the first time and they had zero education. So that was the first things they had to say. And then after that, other advocates ended up posting something on their Facebook or on their coalition page or something. And all these people were getting up there and speaking. So I just had nothing to say. Yeah. So I ended up just speaking from my heart.
And then they were really shocked by it almost. Some of them were—yeah, they were shocked, but we ended up getting it. So that was really good.
Raegann: Hey, that’s awesome. I mean like you’re telling your story and you’re really impacting people through it. And I think it’s really cool that like you’ve been able to turn such a tragic event into something so helpful for other people. And that’s just really admirable for you. And like I don’t even know you and I’m really proud of you. So like I can’t imagine how like the people around you feel.
“I ended up just speaking from my heart and then they were really shocked by it almost. We ended up getting the Narcan box.”
Personal Growth Through Advocacy
Raegann: So thank you for like joining me. I’ve absolutely loved chatting with you. So I guess how would you say that this past year has helped you as a person? How do you think you’ve grown because of this?
Mariah: I feel like I’ve matured a lot and I’ve learned way more about drugs and ways to stop it. And when I was at the summit for Fentanyl Free America, the convention, I learned a lot there. And then I ended up coming home with a booklet. So I have a bunch of stuff that we did like resources and everything. And I feel like overall I’ve just learned way more about it than I ever really thought I would.
Raegann: Yeah. Yeah. Do you feel like it’s impacted you as a person, like beyond just like knowledge base? Do you feel like you’ve gained any skills? You know, you talked about how you kinda had to grow in the “people are always gonna have something to say” aspect. So you’ve definitely grown in like your confidence in that regard. Do you feel like there’s anywhere else you’ve grown?
Mariah: Not really, not that I can think of.
Raegann: Okay. I mean that’s a big one in itself. So yeah.
Future Aspirations in Drug Prevention
Raegann: What are some projects or like dreams you have in mind for prevention going forward?
Mariah: For prevention, I definitely wanna start working with local coalitions more. I was gonna volunteer at a festival, but the dates got mixed up. But I definitely want to get out and try and do more prevention.
And I definitely wanna talk to my school eventually. I wanna try and talk to my counselor and then see if I can talk to my principal and see if I can talk to the city board if I have to. And try and get them to at least have Red Ribbon Week. They don’t even have to like speak about it or have a whole assembly or anything. But I feel like it’s something that they should get into the school. And I feel like they might be a little bit more interested in it because at my old school we did like door decorating and it was like “don’t do drugs” and it had to do with like all this stuff. And then we also had a spirit week along with it. And my school’s really big on spirit, so I feel like that would be something good maybe. Like maybe we can have two spirit events this year instead of one. Yeah. Just kind of make it something fun.
Raegann: No, I think that’s awesome. And you’ve obviously thought it out a lot and come up with like more ideas. So I think you have a really great base and a really good chance at like getting that approved and implemented into another school. And I mean your story is always gonna help, you know? Like, yeah. You talk about how you spoke from the heart and it really impacted people. You didn’t have anything like written out. And I think that’s going to be like a very common theme in your advocacy journey is like when you tell your story, like it impacts people. And that’s what people love. Because that matters, you know, like it resonates.
Influences and Support Systems
Raegann: So one last thing before we wrap up today’s episode. If you had to pick one person who has really influenced and inspired you in this field, who would it be and why?
Mariah: I feel like one person that has really inspired me throughout my whole journey was my mom. Because my mom was really depressed after my brother passed away. And then she started getting into the point where instead of being sad about it, she wanted to try and make sure nobody else had that feeling. And so I just started going to coalition meetings with her and she started teaching me more about things and she’s always supported me. And she tries to push me out of my comfort zone. Yeah. Even though when I don’t necessarily want to sometimes. And even though I can be such a brat to her in the moment. Yeah. It’s she’s definitely been one of my biggest influences and my biggest supporter at the same time.
And yeah, I’m just really grateful for her because she tries her best to push me to do all this advocacy work. And then she also lets me know that it’s okay to express my emotions even outside of advocacy. It’s okay to cry and be sad and to grieve and everything. And yeah.
Raegann: That’s awesome. I’m so glad you have that. She sounds great.
“My mom was really depressed after my brother passed away. And then she started getting into the point where instead of being sad about it, she wanted to try and make sure nobody else had that feeling.”
Raegann: Well, thank you so much for spending your time with me this evening on our episode of the podcast. And thank you for all the phenomenal work and advocacy you’re doing, not only in your community, but also on a nationwide scale with the DEA. That’s amazing. And I’ve said this before, but you’re really just such an inspiration to me and so many others. And I know so many people are proud of everything you do. And we can’t wait to see what else you do in the future. Thank you.
Mariah: Thank you.
Raegann: No pressure. Just as your mom says, like it’s totally fine to show emotion and you don’t have to be everything. But the impact you’ve made is truly surreal and you’re changing a lot of lives. And you know, I know it’s really easy to get caught up in like the numbers, but just knowing you’ve changed one life is really all that matters. And so I think it’s great that you’re able to put aside your own feelings and your own fears for the good of others. But you also talked about like making sure you’re taking care of yourself because you need to do that. And so I think that’s really awesome and very mature of you.
And so as we wrap up, would you like to share a social media handle or any contact information that our listeners can check out if they like to stay connected? If not, that’s totally fine.
Raegann: Okay. Perfect.
Raegann: So finally, to our audience members, thank you so much for this opportunity and for the life-saving work that you’re doing in your own communities. It does not go unnoticed. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or someone you think would benefit from the Drug Prevention Power Hour. We’ll see you next time.
