opioid

Tuesday, May 7, is National Fentanyl Awareness Day and an opportunity to educate your communities about the risks of fentanyl and encourage everyone to take action to address the overdose crisis.

The 2024 Region 10 Opioid Summit is anticipated to be held both virtually and in-person in Boise, Idaho on July 25 & 26. At this time, we are exploring the ability to hold at least some components of the conference virtually, however, we are asking that all presenters attend in-person.

The Region 10 Opioid Summit will be held in a hybrid format on July 25-26, 2024, with an in-person attendance option in Boise, ID.

This year's theme and title is "Breaking barriers, saving lives: Empowering individuals, strengthening families, healing communities, and embracing recovery." At least a quarter of this year's programming workshops will be dedicated to cultural and tribal-based services reaching American Indian/Alaska Native communities.

Prevention providers are invited to a webinar on Thursday, March 28, or Monday, April 1, to learn about Take Back Day medication disposal efforts and new fentanyl education resources.

Attend for information about: 

National Impaired Driving Prevention Month is observed every December to educate the public about the risks of driving impaired and encourage drivers to make responsible choices on the road. Impaired driving is often discussed in relation to alcohol but includes operating a vehicle under the influence of any harmful substance, including cannabis, opioids, and other drugs.

The University of Washington is facilitating focus groups with parents, caregivers, and trusted adults of young people, ages 15-25, who received care for opioid misuse starting at least one year ago. The purpose of these focus groups is to understand participants' experiences with care and learn how the way we talk about these services with youth and their caregivers can be improved. Participants will be compensated and may participate in up to three focus groups in October and November 2023.

The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is expanding on its statewide fentanyl education campaign, Friends for Life, with new materials and messaging designed to reach youth ages 12-18 and their parents/caregivers with primary prevention strategies.

Earlier this year, HCA launched the Friends for Life campaign to inform young adults about the risks of illicit fentanyl and the power of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. Materials and resources from this phase of the campaign will still be available on the website in addition to the new pieces.

Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) has just launched an update to the WA Tribal Opioid Solutions campaign, now titled For Our Lives, to support native serving organizations working in prevention and treatment in Washington State.

National Drug Take Back Day is coming up on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Local communities across the state and nation will be partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) to host awareness events to educate the public on safe medication return and provide an opportunity for community members to dispose of leftover or expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs freely, safely, and conveniently. In addition, vape pens and other e-cigarette devices with batteries removed can be collected, too.