International Overdose Awareness Day

“We know that in 2013 that nearly 250 million (prescriptions) were written for opiods and that’s enough for every adult in the U.S. to have a bottle of pills.” -Jamie Feld, Boulder County Public Health

Jamie Feld, epidemiologist with Boulder County Public Health says that more than 30 people, on average, die each year of accidental opioid-related overdoses in Boulder County. One individual dies every 10 hours in Colorado from a drug overdose. Since 2005, unintentional drug overdoses have surpassed motor vehicle fatalities as a leading cause of death in Boulder County.

International Overdose Awareness Day is Wednesday, August 31st. The public is invited to stand in solidarity at events in Longmont and Boulder to publicly honor loved ones who have died from an overdose. On Wednesday, guest speakers will be at the Longmont Safety and Justice Center at 225 Kimbark St., Longmont from 11am-1pm and in front of the Boulder County Courthouse on Pearl Street from 3-5pm.

“It’s a day that we can gather in solidarity with those who have lost a loved one in Boulder County. We can share information about what we’re doing in the community and we can raise awareness that no one, nor their family, should feel shame or disgrace about a drug overdose.”

More information can be found at www.overdoseday.org. KGNU will be hosting a special call in show, Connections, on Friday, September 9th from 8:30-9:30am.