Prescription Drug Misuse/Abuse Strategies
Opioid Task Force – meets monthly (check calendar for upcoming meeting dates)
Opioid Task Force brings prevention, treatment, and recovery partners together to address the opioid crisis at the local level. Bulloch DFC hosted its 2nd Opioid Stakeholder Meeting in September 2018. Participants reviewed the GA Multi-Stakeholder Opioid & Substance Use Response Plan and developed action steps to put the plan to work locally. View the State Plan here.
The 1st Annual Opioid Stakeholder Summit brought William Trivelpiece Drug Intelligence Officer, Georgia Heroin Response Initiative, ATL/CAR High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency to present the Overdose Mapping Technology (ODMAP). Statesboro Police Department signed on to use this innovative technology to track overdoses in the Statesboro area. Click here to learn more.
Awareness Campaign
Increase awareness and use of local drug drop boxes.
Current drop-box locations:
Brooklet Police Department | Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office | Statesboro Police Department | GSU Public Safety | Portal Police Department
Monitor
A timer cap can be used to help keep track of prescriptions:
- Also used to prevent an individual from taking two doses
- If the prescribed dose is to be taken once every 12 hours, then mom or dad will know if someone else has opened the pill bottle by looking at the timer cap
Secure
Place medications in a secure location away from the reach of others. Medicine lock boxes are available.
Dispose
The Deterra Drug Deactivation kits allow for safe at-home drug disposal. One kit will deactivate 40-45 pills or 6 oz of liquid or 6 patches. Contact our office to request a kit. Deterra kits are provided to us through The AmerisourceBergen Foundation Safe Disposal Support Program.
What do you do with unused or expired medications?
- The safest method is to take them to a nearby drop box where local law enforcement officials will collect them and incinerate them
- It is not safe to flush them down the toilet. Research has shown harmful residual effects on aquatic life as a result of medications being flushed
Naloxone
- What is Naloxone?
- How is Naloxone given?
- Who can give Naloxone to someone who has overdosed?
- What precautions are needed when giving Naloxone?
- What are the side effects of Naloxone?
- Where can I get Naloxone?
Naloxone is a medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist—meaning that it binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids. It can very quickly restore normal respiration to a person whose breathing has slowed or stopped as a result of overdosing with heroin or prescription opioid pain medications.
- Injectable (professional training required)
- Autoinjectable
- Prepackaged Nasal Spray
The liquid for injection is commonly used by paramedics, emergency room doctors, and other specially trained first responders. To facilitate ease of use, NARCAN® Nasal Spray is now available, which allows for naloxone to be sprayed into the nose. Depending on the state you live in, friends, family members, and others in the community may give the auto-injector and nasal spray formulation of naloxone to someone who has overdosed. In Georgia, Naloxone will be available from purchase from retail pharmacies to anyone desiring to have the drug on-hand to treat an opioid overdose.
People who are given naloxone should be observed constantly until emergency care arrives and for at least 2 hours by medical personnel after the last dose of naloxone to make sure breathing does not slow or stop.
Naloxone is an extremely safe medication that only has a noticeable effect in people with opioids in their systems. Naloxone can (but does not always) cause withdrawal symptoms which may be uncomfortable, but are not life-threatening; on the other hand, opioid overdose is extremely life-threatening. Withdrawal symptoms may include headache, changes in blood pressure, rapid heart rate, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and tremors.
Naloxone is a prescription drug. You can buy naloxone in many pharmacies, in some cases without bringing in a prescription from a physician.
Good Samaritan Overdose Immunity Law
To encourage people to seek out medical attention for an overdose or for follow-up care after Naloxone has been administered, 40 states (including Georgia) and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of a Good Samaritan or 911 drug immunity law. These laws generally provide immunity from arrest, charge or prosecution for certain controlled substance possession and paraphernalia offenses when a person who is either experiencing an opiate-related overdose or observing one calls 911 for assistance or seeks medical attention.
These laws often require a caller to have a reasonable belief that someone is experiencing an overdose emergency and is reporting that emergency in good faith. Good faith is often defined to exclude seeking help during the course of the execution of an arrest or a search warrant.
Substance Abuse
1-800-662-4357 (HELP)
Suicide Prevention
1-800-273-8255 (TALK)