It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year since the launching of the PDFNJ blog. Or should I say the award-winning PDFNJ blog thanks to our recent accomplishments at the New Jersey Ad Club Annual Awards dinner two weeks ago? We’ve covered a lot of important developments and changes in our state regarding substance abuse and discussed celebrities and their influence on our children once or twice. Or three times.
The overriding theme of our blog is to share the most current information so that parents, guardians, teachers, and anyone who comes into regular contact with our kids can use it to educate them about the dangers of substance abuse. We’ve seen some sad and sobering news over the last year, especially when it comes to the staggering numbers of overdose deaths that recently overtook car accidents as the number one reason for accidental death. But we’ve also seen great positives.
Over the last year, we’ve seen the implementation of the Overdose Protection Act, which gives legal immunity to those who call for help if a friend or someone in their presence is overdosing on drugs. We’ve seen Governor Christie authorize Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni and Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato to institute the revolutionary Narcan program, which gives first responders lifesaving antidotes to help reverse the effects of a heroin overdose, a measure that has already saved numerous lives. We’ve seen the first statewide gathering of law enforcement, medical, and treatment and prevention professionals to discuss real solutions to this crisis, not just once, but three times in one week.
But the true foundation of all this is you: the parents, the school teacher, the counselor, the neighbor, or anyone else reads and shares this blog on regular basis. All of these legislative measures are wonderful, but they alone won’t solve the problem. We need you to be there and talk to your kids about what you are hearing. We need you to let them know what you feel when it comes to substance abuse. We need you to keep the lines of communication open at all times.
We need you if we are going to make the next year the year substance abuse becomes a thing of the past.