Washington, DC, Aug. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Addiction Policy Forum released a free, comprehensive Overdose Reversal Toolkit in collaboration with the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy (Ontario, Canada). This toolkit release comes ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day, and after preliminary CDC data revealed that an estimated 72,000 people died from drug overdoses last year in the United States.
“Our collaboration with the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy translates life-saving opioid overdose prevention and reversal education into graphic formats, accessible to all audiences,” said Jessica Hulsey Nickel, president and CEO of Addiction Policy Forum. “Addiction Policy Forum is proud to have worked with the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy on this project, and we hope everyone will share it with their communities and loved ones who could benefit from this information.”
The University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy is an international leader in the harm reduction field, and has produced overdose reversal training materials in several languages, as well as content about opioids for chronic pain and cannabis.
"It’s been great to share our resources as the opioid crisis continues to grow," said Dr. Kelly Grindrod, Associate Professor at University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy. "We need as many people as possible to know about naloxone."
The Overdose Reversal Toolkit includes training videos on how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose with naloxone, harm reduction education, resources and further reading. The Overdose Reversal Toolkit can be found at: www.addictionpolicy.org/overdosereversal.
Naloxone is a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses by binding to the same brain receptors that opioids do, and temporarily pushing out the opioids that are causing the overdose.
To find naloxone near you, call the Addiction Resource Center: 1-833-301-HELP (4357).
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About Addiction Policy Forum
Addiction Policy Forum is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 2015 as a diverse partnership of organizations, policymakers, and stakeholders committed to working together to elevate awareness around addiction, and to improve programs and policy through a comprehensive response that includes prevention, treatment, recovery, and criminal justice reform. Jessica Hulsey Nickel, whose own family was devastated by addiction, is the founder of a coalition of 1,700 families impacted by substance use disorders and is available for further explanation and interviews by media.
More information on our mission and projects is available at http://addictionpolicy.org.