Millburn, NJ, Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 2024 Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series will conclude by offering a comprehensive review of the current state of the opioid epidemic, providing perspectives from local, state and national experts. This educational event, a collaboration of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ), the Office of Alternative and Community Responses (OACR), and the Opioid Education Foundation of America (OEFA), is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, December 12.
The webinar, titled “ The Opioid Crisis – Where We Stand as 2024 Concludes,” will bring together experts to discuss critical data, emerging trends, and ongoing challenges as the crisis persists nationwide. Participants will learn about strategies to address opioid misuse and overdose risks while exploring opportunities for community engagement and support in the face of this pressing public health issue.
“As the opioid crisis continues to impact families and communities across New Jersey and beyond, we must assess where we stand and identify effective, collaborative ways forward,” said Angelo Valente, Executive Director of PDFNJ. “This webinar will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the current challenges and resources in combating the opioid epidemic.”
PDFNJ hosts the series in collaboration with OEFA and OACR, which was formed in March 2024 in an effort to coordinate the law enforcement and public health response to the intersecting public health crises of substance use and mental health (including the work of the Office of the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies “NJ CARES”), across the Department of Law and Public Safety and throughout the state.
The Learning Series has grown each year since it was created in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with attendance reaching nearly 10,000 in 2023. Participants have learned from experts from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise, including representatives of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the New Jersey Department of Health, the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as many universities and state and local organizations involved in the fight against the opioid epidemic. Speakers have included New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Regional Director Dr. Dara Kass and award-winning author Sam Quinones.
In 2023, there were 2,564 suspected overdose deaths in New Jersey, with the majority linked to some form of opioid. The epidemic continues to take its toll through the use of heroin, prescription opioids, and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The series is a branch of PDFNJ’s Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day statewide initiative, which has been held annually on October 6 since 2016 to educate residents and prescribers on the risks of prescription opioids and to raise awareness of the opioid crisis throughout the state.
To learn more about Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day and for a schedule of webinars, please visit knockoutday.drugfreenj.org.
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Best known for its statewide anti-drug advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception the Partnership has garnered 230 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.
