Spokane Regional Opioid Task Force
October 2024
New Health Education Resources to Address Overdose
Learn how to recognize and respond to an overdose—this knowledge can save lives. NIDA has new resources focused on overdose to support your educational efforts.
The new activities are tailored for youth, educators, and any others supporting them. See how you can incorporate these assets in your curriculum or community plans for National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week®, March 17–23, 2025.
Empowering Youth to Save Lives
NEW: NIDA’s Guide to Hosting a Naloxone Demonstration and slide presentation offer engaging, educational content about overdoses and the use of naloxone—a lifesaving medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.
Naloxone Education for School Nurses Toolkit
Developed by the National Association of School Nurses, this toolkit offers resources to assist school nurses and other school leaders in evaluating and responding to the drug overdose crisis.
Teaching Youth to Recognize an Overdose and Respond
Students and educators can be equipped with overdose prevention and response skills to create healthier, safer schools and communities. Check out the new NIDA blog featured on the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America website to learn more about these valuable, and potentially lifesaving, tools.
Over the Dose: A Vital Campaign to Curb Prescription Drug Misuse
Over the Dose: A Vital Campaign to Curb Prescription Drug Misuse
Prescription drug misuse is a growing public health crisis affecting millions of individuals and communities across the country. In response to this pressing issue, CADCA has launched the ‘Over the Dose’ campaign, an initiative aimed at raising awareness and equipping communities with the knowledge of safe, responsible disposal of prescription medications.
Prescription drug misuse occurs when medications are taken in a manner or dose other than prescribed or by someone other than the person they were intended for. Accidental misuse, including by household pet, can still be dangerous and lead to addiction, overdose and death.
‘Over the Dose’ seeks to spread awareness of safe and responsible methods of disposal for unused prescription medications. Removing the unused medications from the home entirely is the only way to ensure that misuse, whether intentional or accidental, does not occur in the home. Click below to find disposal methods and take the challenge.
An industrial chemical is showing up in fentanyl in the US, troubling scientists
An industrial chemical used in plastic products has been cropping up in illegal drugs from California to Maine, a sudden and puzzling shift in the drug supply that has alarmed health researchers.
Its name is bis (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate, commonly abbreviated as BTMPS. The chemical is used in plastic for protection against ultraviolet rays, as well as for other commercial uses.
In an analysis released Monday, researchers from UCLA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other academic institutions and harm reduction groups collected and tested more than 170 samples of drugs that had been sold as fentanyl in Los Angeles and Philadelphia this summer. They found roughly a quarter of the drugs contained BTMPS.
Accessing Fentanyl Test Strips in WA. State
DanceSafe is a non-profit whose programs include drug education, sexual health education, political advocacy, and event outreach. You can purchase Fentanyl Test Strips directly from their website, found here: https://dancesafe.org/about-us/
West Spokane Wellness Partnership has distributed over 1000 Narcan kits to community since May 2023
West Spokane Wellness Partnership is a Narcan Distribution Site with WA. State Department of Health. They have distributed over 1000 Narcan kits since May 2023. If you would like Narcan for your organization or event please email Sarah McNew at smcnew@esd101.net.
Peer Spokane now has a Narcan vending machine on site!
Find narcan near you at: https://stopoverdose.org/find-naloxone-near-me-washington-state/
Upcoming Narcan Training
In partnership with the WA Poison Control, the Spokane Regional Health Direct will be hosting a Narcan training on Tuesday December 3rd 12:30pm-1:45pm at the Spokane Regional Health District (1101 W College) on the 1st floor in the SRHD auditorium room 140. The training is open to anyone interested in learning the signs of an overdose and how to administer Naloxone. If you have any questions, please reach out to Amanda Dugger adugger@srhd.org or Justin Mauger jmauger@wapc.org
