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.

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On August 23rd and 31st, the Task Force hosted community events in Spokane, WA. to raise awareness about International Overdose Awareness Day!

We want to thank the planning committee members, partners, and event volunteers who made this come to life in the community: Tyler Vermillion (Ideal Options), Audrey Cutis (West Spokane Wellness Partnership), Lorrie Tripp (Boulder Care), Mary Malone (SRHD), Lacy Larson (DEA), Amanda Dugger (SRHD), Sarah McNew (West Spokane Wellness Partnership), SCOPE volunteers, and Linda Thompson (GSSAC).

We want to thank YOKES Grocery on North Foothills Drive and Argonne for their partnership in hosting these events!

Over 60 medication lock boxes were distributed and 40 Narcan kits.

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.

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/

SB 6109 Training

The Administrative Office of the Courts is partnering with the Department of Health to hold a statewide webinar on September 13th from 12:00-1:oopm to present on the recently released Public Health Guidance on High-Potency Synthetic Opioids. This guidance was legislatively required by the recent passage of Senate Bill 6109 which mandates that courts give “great weight” to this guidance when determining if a child needs to be removed from the home. The flyer for the event is attached here which contains additional information and the registration link.

Registration link: Meeting Registration - Zoom

All court and system partners involved in child dependency cases are welcome to attend, including those with lived experience as youth, parents, caregivers, and foster parents., so please feel free to send this invitation out widely to your networks.

We will be recording the webinar and making it available for later viewing, but we would prefer that people come to the live event.

Find narcan near you at: https://stopoverdose.org/find-naloxone-near-me-washington-state/