From Tillamook County Community Health Centers:
Today, May 9th, is National Fentanyl Awareness Day and the official launch of the Northwest Oregon Fentanyl Aware Campaign. Tillamook, Columbia, and Clatsop County have come together to raise awareness of drug overdose risk and harm reduction through the #fentanylaware program.
The Fentanyl Aware program originated in Lane County and has been designed to promote information on risk and safety to a variety of communities and connect the public to local resources. The social media campaign will start today on National Fentanyl Awareness Day and continue through to August 31, Overdose Awareness Day. Keep an eye out for upcoming events related to the campaign.
To start off the campaign, we are talking about fentanyl. According to the CDC, 107,375 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in January 2022. A staggering 67% of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Some of these deaths were attributed to fentanyl mixed with other illicit drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, with many users unaware they were actually taking fentanyl. Only two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose; it’s particularly dangerous for someone who does not have a tolerance to opioids. Learn more at fentanylawarenorthwest.com.
