MILWAUKEE — Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 marks this year’s International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) — a day dedicated to spreading recognition from the dangers of overdoses while remembering those who passed from overdoses without judgement.
According to a local advocate, the best way to fight opioid abuse: parents need to talk to their children.
“(Children) need to know: do not to take an Advil from anybody, do not take a pill from any body. That discussion needs to happen,” said Lauri Badura, of Oconomowoc. “Kids think they’re taking a pill to help them study for a test. You know what? It could end your life.
Badura lost her 19-year-old son, Archie, to a heroin overdose in 2014. She spent Thursday participating in a panel discussion at the White House.
The number of overdose deaths remain high in Wisconsin. In 2021, there were 1,427 overdose deaths related to opioids in the state, according to the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services. People addicted to opioids come from all ethnic groups, ages, and class.
“No one wakes up and says ‘Today is the day I’m going to start using heroin,'” said Bill Keeton of Vivent Health during an interview with Wisconsin’s Morning News. “[Addiction can start] because of a surgery, because of a health condition, or for chronic pain medication.”
One way to prevent overdose deaths is to be educated on how to treat them, according to Keeton.
“Having the training on how to use Narcan is the first step to saving that person’s life.”
Danielle Wegmen and Katrina Jenkins of Clean Slate Milwaukee joined WTMJ N.O.W.’s Sandy Maxx and Steve Scaffidi the day before International Overdose Awareness Day 2023 to discuss their efforts and the state of addiction issues in Wisconsin including the acquisition and use of fentanyl.
“The thing about fentanyl is it can be laced in a lot of drugs, so you could be smoking marijuana and it could be laced with fentanyl and you wouldn’t know it,” Jenkins explained. “We were happy as an organization, as many of our other people we work with in the community were, when Gov. Evers signed the bill that fentanyl test strips are no longer drug paraphernalia.”
Kits are available at Milwaukee County Fire Departments including these fentanyl test strips, which help to prevent overdoses by ensuring that other substances are not contaminated with fentanyl prior to use. Jenkins explained this could be the difference between life and death for someone who’s battling drug addiction but has the wherewithal to test what they’re using for contaminants that could kill them.
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