As responsible adults are we doing everything we can to educate the youth on the dangers of drug abuse?
Are we making sure that the youth understand the fatal consequences that drug abuse has?
lately there have been a spike in overdoses across the country due to lacing of a powerful drug called fentanyl. In Ohio the situation is becoming an epidemic.
Fentanyl contributed to 399 deaths last year in Cuyahoga County and is the primary reason fatal overdoses have spiked to record levels in Northeast Ohio, officials have said.
Cover2Resources, is working with several local agencies to buy test strips that could be used to detect fentanyl when it is mixed with heroin and other drugs.
The same test that doctors use to test a patient's urine for fentanyl can also be used to test street drugs, and test strips have already been distributed through a pilot program in New York City. (Cleveland.com)
The synthetic opioid has created issues for public health responses.
Botticelli, now executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at Boston Medical Center, told the Massachusetts Health Council that the time it takes to die of a fentanyl overdose is “dramatically shortened” from other opioid overdoses and fentanyl users are more likely to consume the drug alone.
Those factors make it more difficult to successfully administer the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, the use of which is premised on the idea that an overdose would happen in the presence of others with minutes to intervene, Botticelli said.(telegram.com)
The issue of fentanyl must be combated through proper education, rehabilitation, emotional support for those abusing drugs and proper response.
This is an issue that touches close to home being an Ohio resident. Fathers, Mothers, Brothers,Sisters, Sons, and daughters are losing their lives due to this issue everyday. An issue we can help end.
-GRAYt Relations
