High School Students Can Showcase Musical Talent in Statewide New Jersey Shout Down Drugs Competition

1/17/2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 17, 2019
Contact: Mary Vassoler
Media Coordinator
973-467-2100 x11 (office)
973-382-4560 (mobile)

High School Students Can Showcase Musical Talent in Statewide New Jersey Shout Down Drugs Competition

MILLBURN — High school students are invited to share substance use prevention messages through their original music as part of the 2019 New Jersey Shout Down Drugs contest.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) is accepting entries through Friday, February 1. Students interested in sharing their musical talent can submit original music with lyrics about substance use prevention.

A panel of judges will select one finalist from every county, along with a few wild card contestants, to perform their original songs in 15th annual Prevention Concert, which will be held at Rutgers University’s Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theatre in New Brunswick on Friday, May 10.

The winner of the New Jersey Shout Down Drugs competition, as decided by judges and announced at the end of the Prevention Concert, will receive a $5,000 music contract. The second- and third-place performers will receive $3,000 and $2,000 music contracts, respectively, with the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.

Over a million online votes for the New Jersey Shout Down Drugs program have been cast and the numbers for contest favorites continue to grow. The top vote-getter will earn an automatic spot in the Prevention Concert.

“No matter what genre of music - rock, jazz, hip-hop or R&B - students have a great opportunity to send a positive message about substance use prevention to their peers that could have an impact on their lives,” PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente said.

For rules and information on how to enter the New Jersey Shout Down Drugs music competition, contact Diane Higgins at 973-467-2100 Ext. 19 or diane@drugfreenj.org or visit www.shoutdowndrugs.com.

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Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $100 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 174 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.

 

 

Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey Launches Campaign to Prevent Fentanyl Deaths

 

MILLBURN — In response to the crisis that has claimed thousands of New Jersey residents in the past four years alone, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) has launched a media campaign to make families aware of the fentanyl outbreak in New Jersey communities.

Drug-related deaths in New Jersey have eclipsed record totals in the state in each of the past four years, in large part due to the increase in fentanyl overdoses. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Officials estimate more than half of the state’s 3,163 drug overdoses in 2018 involved fentanyl, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. In 2017, about 1,400 or 50 percent of New Jersey drug overdose deaths were fentanyl-related.

“Fentanyl has become the deadliest drug in the opioid epidemic that is tragically impacting so many New Jersey families and communities,” PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente said. “It is vital that New Jersey residents are aware of the dangers of fentanyl and understand its deadly effects.”

The campaign, which New Jersey residents will see on buses, trains, billboards and on websites of law enforcement partners throughout the state, focuses on just how little of the substance it takes to produce tragic results. Next to the image of a small sugar packet appears the message, “The amount of Fentanyl that can fit in this packet can kill hundreds of people.”

In many cases, people unknowingly take fentanyl when mixed with other drugs like heroin or cocaine or as counterfeit prescription pills. To learn more about fentanyl, visit www.drugfreenj.org/drug-encyclopedia/fentanyl.

“This campaign will arm New Jersey residents with crucial information on fentanyl to make the best decisions to help keep their families and communities safe,” Valente said.

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Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $100 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 174 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.