AUSTIN — The Texas Attorney General’s Office and a coalition of group and enterprise leaders launched a pilot program Wednesday to combat the opioid epidemic.
Known because the Friday Night Lights Against Opioid Coalition, Texas state leaders are asking highschool soccer coaches to use their groups, dad and mom and faculty band members to go out opioid dissolving residence kits at their soccer video games.
The packets, generally known as DisposeRx, include components that when emptied right into a capsule bottle with heat water dissolves the medicine. The packets are marketed as a protected approach to eliminate leftover medicine as opposed to throwing them within the trash or down a drain the place they will contaminate water.
Texas state officials mentioned they’re concentrating on highschool college students as unintended overdoses due to artificial narcotics proceed to rise at a speedy charge.
In one Central Texas college district, 4 highschool college students died from suspected overdoses final summer season.
“With prescription drug misuse on the rise among high school students, more must be done to keep our students safe,” Attorney General Ken Paxton mentioned. “That’s why I’m proud to help launch this program to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to make sure that our children are safe and that unused opioids can be disposed of promptly and properly.”
Fentanyl is an artificial opioid accredited for treating extreme ache with a prescription, nonetheless it continues to flood the illicit drug market inflicting a pointy rise in fentanyl-related deaths within the Lone Star State.
In 2018, Texas reported 214 fentanyl-related deaths; on 2021, greater than 1,600 deaths have been attributed to the drug.
Joe Martin, of Texas High School Coaches Association, mentioned that is notably scary amongst younger athletes who could also be prescribed the medicine due to an damage however determine to promote some to friends.
As little as 2 milligrams may very well be deadly to an grownup and even much less may trigger the dying of a kid, well being officials say.
The pilot program will work to cut back the variety of teen overdoses — particularly amongst student-athletes — by distributing over 3.5 million at-home medicine/drug disposal packets, state officials mentioned. Martin mentioned the packets can be distributed on the remaining residence video games for the common season at collaborating colleges.
“Our 25,000 member coaches are very aware of this crisis … and will be quick to step up and make a huge impact with this distribution,” Martin mentioned.
story by The Texas Tribune Source link