October marks National Substance Use Prevention Month, making this an ideal time to target prevention messaging to reach as many people as possible. Amid this ongoing opioid epidemic, overdose and addiction prevention have become critical life-saving tools.
Local drug education programs and organizations in Louisiana, combined with reliable information about opioids, have a real impact and significantly help individuals and communities.
Fentanyl and other opioids are fueling the worst drug crisis in the history of the United States. Countless lives have been lost to overdose and addiction.
Most people agree the opioid problem started with overprescribing legal pain medications like OxyContin. Deceptive marketing and advertising of these drugs being safe and effective resulted in nothing but death and addiction.
Since the 1990s, the opioid epidemic has gone in waves with prescription pain medica-tion, a resurgence of heroin, and now illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids. Over the years, there has been an increasing supply of fentanyl from Mexico.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly worsened the problem. The border closures and supply chain disruptions meant drug users had to rely on local suppliers and unknown drugs. The lockdowns and social isolation resulted in more people dying alone without access to treatment or support.
In 2022, 64% of suspected drug-related fatalities in Louisiana involved fentanyl.
There are some critical messages that prevention campaigns can utilize and target to specific populations or everyone. For instance, fentanyl can be hidden in drugs. Fentanyl is increasingly found in counterfeit pain medication that is made to look like the real thing.
These fake pills are commonly sold on social media platforms where drug dealers use code words and emojis to advertise products. Fentanyl is also found in heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other illicit drugs. It is nearly impossible to tell if a drug has been laced with fentanyl without using fentanyl test strips.
Moreover, mixing drugs can cause overdose, especially if a drug is laced with fentanyl. Mixing stimulants increases the risk of heart attack or stroke, while mixing opioids with other depressants drastically slows breathing, making the life-saving medicine Naloxone vital.
Naloxone reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, and this information should be in prevention messaging. Naloxone is available in all 50 states without a prescription, and Good Samaritan laws protect those overdosing.
Finally, people in treatment and recovery need support. The stigma surrounding mental health and addiction prevents many people from asking for help. Showing compassion for people who use drugs and offering support during their treatment and recovery journey remains the best way to remove stigma.
Communities that come together to share campaigns and related resources with people of all ages are taking essential steps to stop drug overdose and save lives.
