Join Us on October 6 for Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day

Join Us on October 6 for Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day

Governor Murphy officially designated October 6 as Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day in New Jersey, a statewide project that is created by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ); The Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Addiction Services; and the Community Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Morris, with help from partners across the state. With about three weeks to go until the 5th annual Knock Out Day, I wanted to urge all of you get involved in this important day that helps to spread awareness of the dangers of prescription opioids and actions that can be taken to protect families and communities from addiction. 

In addition, the White House has proclaimed this week, September 13-19, Opioid and Heroin Awareness Week, acknowledging the administration’s commitment to ending the opioid crisis in our country, pledging to continue to help Americans with addiction work towards a drug-free life.

In 2019, more than 3,000 people in New Jersey died of a drug overdose, a majority of which involved some form of opioid. The pandemic is making the opioid crisis even more dire with overdose deaths up 42 percent in May.

More than 10,000 people helped spread the word about the dangers of prescription opioids and the severity of the opioid crisis for last year’s Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day. Due to COVID-19, all of this year’s outreach will be done virtually via social media email and webinars. Please visit the online toolkit that has everything at your fingertips to easily share these important messages in your community.

The toolkit offers a variety of shareable documents such as press releases, letters to the editor, announcements and social media images and posts.

The Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day learning series will feature webinars and virtual presentations on various aspects of the opioid epidemic, so be sure to visit the website often for additional information.

As always continued wishes to stay safe and well.

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