If you watch Anderson Cooper or other TV shows in prime time, you’ve probably noticed new commercials – very dark ones – that address the dangers of opioid addiction and the fact that it can happen to people from all walks of life.
The disturbing TV ads – a somewhat unusual move for Guilford County government – are part of a larger campaign by county health officials to remind everyone in grim detail that the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the only pandemic that’s been taking area lives in recent years.
The seriousness of the commercials mirror the weighty nature of the battle of opioid addiction that was the number one concern for county health officials before the COVID-19 pandemic stole all of the media’s attention. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is less of a threat, attention is turning back to the severe opioid problem that never went away.
A new website is also part of the county’s campaign, as is an effort to get Naloxone – better known by the brand name Narcan – into the hands of as many Guilford County residents as possible. That drug, as many people now know, can help reverse an overdose if it’s given to the victim quickly. The more Narcan there is in the hands of more people in the county, the better chance there is that an overdose victim will survive.
In addition to the free Narcan kits, the county is also offering training on its use.
The message to all citizens is this: “Add naloxone to your first aid kit and you can help save a life.”
For information on how to get a free Narcan kit – and other information on ways to get help for opioid addiction – people can visit https://savealifeguilford.com.
More government sanctioned drugs to combat government sanctioned drugs. But plants, mushrooms, and poppies are 100 percent verboten. Money chasing money and broken lives are littering our land.
This is much simpler than it sounds. Don’t be a sheep. Just because a doctor recommends or prescribes a drug, it is your body and your choice whether or not to take it. Refuse any opiate based drugs and you won’t need Narcan. If you intentionally ingest a poisonous substance for recreational purposes, it might come with consequences. It’s not John Q. Taxpayer’s responsibility to bail you out!
That logic is akin to seeing someone in an overturned car on fire, slowing down as you go by them, and screaming “it’s your fault for driving today, idiot!”
When people need help, we help them. Well, I try to at least. It’s clear to see, you do not.
The difference in your post is the overturned car was an accident, but someone taking an illegal narcotic is not.
Exactly. Personally, I’d stop for any stranger who crashed their car, but not the guy who runs out in front of a train.
I have blood relatives who are addicts, they don’t want help, they want to manipulate everyone else to support their habit and know that can rely on certain folks to bail them out when they overdose. Sorry Pal, kin or not, if you intentionally ingest it, I hope your life insurance is paid up. Putting Narcan in the hands of the public encourages opiate use. Addicts know they have a safety net instead of real consequences.
We don’t use drugs at our house, and our guests don’t use them either. Why do we need an anti-overdose drug in our medicine cabinet?
You people never cease to amaze me. Completely void of compassion and empathy. I sincerely pray that you never experience the devastating grip of addiction on self or loved one. Narcan is a life saving drug that is actually now used in hospital settings as well as among the general public. You’d be amazed at how often unforeseen complications and accidental overdoses occur within the “safe” walls of operating and recovery rooms. Moralizing and criminalizing drug use was the biggest mistake in recent US history, and hundreds of thousands of Americans have died as a result. Harm reduction is an evidence-based way to save lives. How is this in any way a negative development? I’d rather be a degenerate low-life fighting for the lives of addicted people than self-righteous misinformed and vindictive. GOD BLESS.
I will leave this right here for all the scholars in the world!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TkBKCEecuQ