I want to share with you a story that ran on CBS News Monday, focusing on the importance of opioid safety and alternatives. The segment also focused on healthy aging – and PDFNJ efforts over the past year to inform New Jerseyans age 55 and over about the risks of opioids and the alternatives that they use to manage pain safely at this stage of life. You can watch the clip here and I encourage you to share it.
Awareness and education about safe opioid prescribing and use is critical in preventing addiction and overdose.
The CBS News story also highlighted the importance of understanding opioid-related risks, their link to dependency and addiction of all opioids including fentanyl and other synthetics
Tomorrow, March 19th, the organization Song for Charlie will host a webinar on preparing for the National Fentanyl Awareness Day. You can find out more and sign-up for the webinar here
Communities across the country come together to observe National Fentanyl Awareness Day each year on April 29 -- a nationwide effort uniting businesses, schools, nonprofits, and government leaders to raise awareness about the dangers of illicit fentanyl and counterfeit prescription pills. In New Jersey, we also recognize the designation of July 14 of each year as “Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Day” to raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and to honor the memory of Bergen County resident Max Lenowitz and the thousands of other New Jersey residents who have lost their lives to fentanyl poisoning.
At the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey we continue our work to educate and raise awareness of all aspects of the opioid crisis to help protect all New Jersey residents. I hope you will continue to learn more in our monthly webinar series and by sharing the resources on DrugFreeNJ.org and NJHealthyAging.com