PDFNJ and New Jersey Attorney General’s Office to Resume Collaboration on Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series

Organizations Hosted 10 Webinars on Opioid Epidemic in 2021

MILLBURN — The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) and the Office of the New Jersey Coordinator of Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies (NJ CARES), which is responsible for overseeing addiction-fighting efforts across the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, have renewed their partnership to host the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series in 2022.

The Learning Series, which began in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, features regular webinars focusing on various aspects of the opioid epidemic and its impact on New Jersey and the nation. It is a branch of PDFNJ’s Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day initiative, which is held annually on October 6 to educate residents and prescribers on the risks of prescription opioids and to raise awareness of the opioid crisis throughout the state.

“The Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series has become a valuable resource for New Jersey residents to learn more about the opioid crisis and what they can do to make a difference in the fight against the epidemic,” said PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente. “The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has been a tremendous partner in planning the series and a key reason for its growth since it launched in 2020.”

The 2022 Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series will include a webinar every month on wide-ranging topics concerning the opioid epidemic, including medication-assisted treatment, harm reduction, the impact on families and addiction recovery. The Learning Series will kick off at 1 p.m. Thursday, January 27, with the webinar “An Hour with Sam Quinones Author of ‘Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic.’”

“Collaboration is a critical component in the fight to end drug addiction in New Jersey and our work with the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey demonstrates the tremendous power of partnerships,” said Kelly Levy, Acting Director of NJ CARES. “Despite the social restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 public health emergency, through the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series we were able to educate and bring messages of hope to thousands of New Jerseyans at a time when they needed it most. We look forward to continuing this important work with PDFNJ in the new year.”

In 2021, the Learning Series featured 10 webinars that drew a total audience of more than 8,000 participants. Speakers included Lieutenant Commander Jamie Mells of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Jersey Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck and leading experts from state government, law enforcement, healthcare and the prevention, treatment and recovery fields.

Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day has been held in New Jersey on October 6 each year since 2016. The statewide single-day initiative is organized by PDFNJ and The Community Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Morris, in cooperation with the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. The goal of the day is to mobilize the prevention and treatment communities, community leaders and concerned citizens to raise awareness of the potential for dependency on prescribed pain medicine, as well as their link to heroin and fentanyl use in the state.

In 2021, more than 3,000 people in New Jersey died from suspected drug overdoses, a vast majority of which involved some form of opioid including prescription painkillers, heroin and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

To learn more about the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day and for a schedule of this year’s webinars, please visit knockoutday.drugfreenj.org.

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Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey: 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 $200 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 201 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.