DEA Launches Digital Billboard Campaign Against Opioid Use
https://news.wttw.com/2019/02/14/dea-launches-digital-billboard-campaign-against-opioid-use
As part of its ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, the Drug Enforcement Agency announced Thursday it’s launching a yearlong digital billboard campaign across the Chicago area.
Messages in both English and Spanish will be displayed on area roadways, train stations and other locations, warning passersby of the dangers of opioids, including legally prescribed medications, and outlining treatment options.
“The purpose of this campaign is to stir up action in our communities and to save lives,” said Robert J. Bell, U.S. DEA associate special agent in charge of the Chicago field division office. The 12-month campaign is a partnership between the DEA, Chicago Crime Commission and Clear Channel Outdoor.
“I hope that (the billboards) put a little fear into a parent’s heart and they go home and they’re motivated to talk with their kids … about the dangers of drug addiction of any myriad of drugs,” he said.
Educating the public about the dangers of opioids and treatment options is “critical” to defeating the epidemic, according to Douglas O’Brien, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 5 director.
“This (epidemic) will not be defeated in Washington,” said O’Brien. “It’s going to be defeated in communities around the country, in emergency rooms, in church basements, in police stations and in people’s living rooms.”
O’Brien hopes the digital billboard campaign can serve as a catalyst to spark conversations and to connect people who have substance use disorders with treatment.
“I’m hopeful this campaign and the messages it sends can speak to all the community members out there who may not know how to start those conversations with their loved ones,” said Amy Voss of Buffalo Grove, who lost her son Jared to a heroin and cocaine overdose in 2015. “Please start those conversations.”
The DEA has also created educational resources, including a tool kit for parents with information on warning signs of opioid misuse and a guide to prevention, on the Operation Prevention website.
Contact Kristen Thometz: @kristenthometz | kthometz@wttw.com | (773) 509-5452
Filed under: General Problems
They could AT LEAST spell it correctly, for all of our tax dollars at work, sheesh!!! WTF, idiots???
Our tax dollars at work for stupid billboards. Do they think these ones will work better because they are digital? Because the ones in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s were so bland, you know?
The DEA has to look like they are doing something to continue to justify its existence. Time to close them down for good. Homeland Security can take over the drug smugglers.
Amazing how those billboards in the past stopped all the cocaine, crack, meth, bath salts, and whatever else people have chosen to use to get high. Ugh
So they think that another “just say no” campaign will do the trick? Do they think that no one has heard the hysterical claims about “opioids?” Do they think people don’t know how to seek help if addicted? The sad truth is that treatments via rehabs are too expensive for many people who want help, and a lot of them are scam artists turning a fast buck. Those who do get into rehab quickly find out that it rarely works. Maybe if they stopped pumping out PROPaganda and learned how to treat addiction, they might just save a few lives.
Well at least there is still hope and they are saving lives…
Are they? Whose? You really think someone about to shoot up is going to remember a billboard & go “oh, never mind”? The old “this is your brain on drugs” commercial was memorable, but it’s extremely doubtful anyone ever decided not to use recreationally because of it.
Sarcasm 🙂
Dave;
Oooooooops, sorry!
Very sorry I didn’t pick it up…I’ve been reading too much crud written by the zealots, methinks. They write stuff like that –& farther out– but they actually mean it.
Peace?
It’s ok, I am actually TOO bitter now and straight sentences are impossible, and shutting my mouth is not an option among those that also love the truth. Regards
Yeah, that’ll fix the “crisis.”
Wonder if they’ll be like the billboards Oregon’s low-income insurance provider put up a couple of years ago which said:
“YOUR DOCTOR IS TURNING YOU INTO AN ADDICT!
REFUSE OPIOIDS!”
I’ve never wished for a bazooka so badly in my life.