Fentanyl awareness and prevention is a top priority for the nation’s Governors and First Spouses. Numerous Governors have taken executive action, signed legislation, created campaigns and used emergency powers to tackle the nation’s drug overdose epidemic.
To help augment the work Governors and states are leading to address the country’s overdose epidemic, Virginia First Lady Suzanne Youngkin and New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy launched an initiative to engage the nation’s First Spouses to help raise awareness about the risks of fentanyl and to prevent overdose.
“We hope to ensure that every family has the resources and information needed to protect their children from this deadly threat.”
Virginia First Lady Suzzanne Youngkin
As part of the First Spouses’ initiative, Mrs. Youngkin and Mrs. Murphy encouraged Governors and First Spouses to help mark August 21 as National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day and August 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day. The First Spouses shared a toolkit of ideas for marking the observances, encouraging offices to consider taking the following actions:
- Lower the state flag to half-staff to honor lives lost to fentanyl and issue a press release about the order to lower flags;
- Light a government building purple, the global color of addiction recovery, and issue a press release and/or post photos; and/or
- Post on social media to help raise awareness about the observances and to share resources and about fentanyl and overdose prevention.
“Overdose affects us all. It impacts people of both parties and people of every race, class and creed.”
New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy
Mrs. Youngkin and Mrs. Murphy also worked with the National Governors Association (NGA) to organize a briefing for Governors’ staff members and First Spouses to hear from some of the country’s leading experts about national campaigns underway to address the drug overdose epidemic. The briefing featured presentations from Michelle Hillman, Chief Campaign Development Officer with the Ad Council; Ed Ternan, Founder of Song for Charlie; and Will Kimbell, Chief of Operations with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Each speaker shared details about the public education campaigns their organizations are leading to raise awareness about the risks of fentanyl. The speakers underscored the need to increase education, starting with junior high aged students and their families who, too often, do not understand the potential risks of fentanyl, especially for young people. The speakers stressed that the core message of the First Ladies’ initiative still needs to reach more Americans: it only takes one fake pill laced with synthetic fentanyl to kill, and fake pills are widely trafficked – even masquerading as safe prescription drugs.
The presenters underscored the First Spouses’ message that the country faces a new era in the fentanyl crisis – and young people are especially vulnerable. Overdose deaths among adolescents 10-19 years old more than doubled between 2019 and 2021. Seven out of every 10 fentanyl pills seized by DEA contains a lethal dose.
Organizations like Song for Charlie have pointers that parents can use to start “The New Drug Talk” with children of any age. In addition to stressing that young people should never take a pill they receive from a friend or purchase on social media, it’s also important they learn how to recognize and respond if a friend is experiencing an overdose. Overdose-reversal medication naloxone, commercially known as Narcan, is now available in every state without a prescription.
Both the Ad Council and DEA also offer a variety of resources for Americans of all ages. Many Americans may inadvertently see the Ad Council’s campaign when watching TV or scrolling through social media, and more resources, including advertisements that can be tailored to different age groups, demographics and states, can be found trough The Real Deal on Fentanyl website. DEA’s website provides many resources, including data, in addition to a special exhibit, The Faces of Fentanyl, created to commemorate the lives lost from fentanyl poisoning.
In Virginia, Mrs. Youngkin has been working closely with the One Pill Can Kill campaign initiative that was created to help generate conversations around the dangers of counterfeit drugs and fentanyl. The It Only Takes One video campaign also launched to share the stories of Virginians who have experienced the devastation of the fentanyl crisis.
NGA is focused on supporting the work Mrs. Youngkin and Mrs. Murphy are leading. Last August, NGA released a roadmap to help support Governors and state officials in developing policy solutions. Titled “Implementing Best Practices Across the Continuum of Care to Prevent Overdose,” the roadmap outlines concrete solutions across the full spectrum of health services. At NGA’s 2024 annual Winter Meeting and Summer Meeting, First Spouses also held special sessions to focus on overdose prevention.
Follow NGA’s social media accounts to find more updates about the work the nation’s Governors and First Spouses are leading to address the nation’s drug overdose epidemic.
