International Overdose Awareness Day – August 31 is the world’s annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.
Stand Up, Mississippi invites you to join in creating awareness about overdose prevention and supporting families and friends who have lost loved ones to overdose. People lost due to overdose are not just statistics – they are people who are loved. The tragedy of overdose is far too frequent, but by standing up together, we can help prevent it.
No one should stand alone in our fight to end overdose. While every individual action matters greatly, coming together as an international community creates a powerful collective action—one that moves us with incredible speed toward our shared goal of preventing and ultimately ending all overdoses.
In alignment with the International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) 2024 theme, “Together we can,” we’re highlighting ways to get engaged and involved in your community. Participation can range from:
Scroll down for links to resources to help you get started. You can also visit Stand Up, MS’s social media pages for IOAD inspiration and posts to easily share.
This is where you can find different resources to help inspire your event planning and help you make a real difference.
Even though we have seen an impressive drop in opioid prescriptions – counterfeit drugs are infiltrating our communities and becoming an overriding concern. Drug traffickers manufacture pills almost identical to Adderall, Oxycodone and Xanax. However, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), these counterfeit pills may contain lethal amounts of fentanyl, heroin, or methamphetamine. Just two grams of fentanyl – about the size of a few grains of salt – can kill an unsuspecting user.
We need all the help we can to spread the message that one pill can be deadly, and the best way to prevent an overdose is to avoid taking any – unless prescribed by a licensed professional. The good news is that recovery is indeed possible, and if we work together, we can decrease the number of opioid overdoses and overdose-related deaths in our state. Stand Up, Mississippi is a statewide Department of Mental Health (DMH) initiative. It focuses on ending the opioid crisis in our state and lessening the stigma associated with the disease of addiction. In partnership with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, our goal is to educate Mississippians about the dangers of using opioids and help those who need substance abuse treatment.