The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently launched the “Your Pain is Real. So Are the Risks.” campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription medications that contain opioids and encourage patients to talk to doctors about safer pain management options.
The campaign features short descriptions of the potential hazards of opioids and offers resources to begin addiction treatment. Community residents will see these materials at grocery stores around the county.
“The complexity of the opioid crisis requires a coordinated response,” said Dana Murguia, senior program manager for the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Public Health branch. “We work with community partners such as Rx Safe Humboldt and Humboldt Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention to help prevent opioid addiction and overdose through drug treatment, support for safe prescribing practices and naloxone distribution.”
The misuse of prescription pain medications that contain opioids, such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine and codeine, can lead to addiction, overdose and death.
In 2017, 18 county residents visited emergency departments and 24 were hospitalized because of an opioid-related overdose. Twenty-eight people died from opioid-related overdoses during the same year.
To learn more about CDPH’s campaign, visit TheRisksAreReal.cdph.ca.gov. For information about local opioid addiction prevention efforts, contact DHHS’s Healthy Communities Division at 707-268-2132 or publichealthaod@co.humboldt.ca.us.
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