Experts to Explore Safe Prescribing and Alternatives to Opioids in Upcoming Webinar

Millburn, New Jersey, March 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — National experts on opioid safety and prescribing will highlight effective alternatives to opioids and recent updates to prescribing guidelines in the next installment of the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series, organized by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ), the Office of the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies (NJ CARES) and the Opioid Education Foundation of America (OEFA).

The webinar, “Alternatives to Opioids,” will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 30, and will feature representatives from Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP), an organization that aims to reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality by promoting cautious and responsible prescribing practices. Dr. Jane Ballantyne, vice president of clinical affairs with PROP, and Dr. Andrew Kolodny, PROP’s president, will speak about pain treatment options other than opioids, as well as updates to CDC prescribing guidelines.

“Prevention is crucial to ending the opioid epidemic, and education about the risks of opioids is a key element of prevention efforts,” said PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente. “There has been tremendous progress in responsible prescribing in recent years, and this will webinar will help to inform both healthcare professionals and potential patients about opioid alternatives.”

The webinar will be the third in the 2023 Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series. PDFNJ in collaboration with OEFA and NJ CARES, which is responsible for overseeing addiction-fighting efforts across the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, have planned to address wide-ranging topics concerning the opioid epidemic in this year’s Learning Series, including educating families about proper opioid use and potential misuse, opioid alternatives for youths through seniors, the rise of polysubstance use, the intersection of race, culture, and the opioid epidemic, and evidence-based programs for addiction prevention, treatment and recovery.

The Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series began in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to educate New Jersey residents on various aspects of the opioid epidemic and its impact on New Jersey and the nation. It is a branch of PDFNJ’s Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day statewide initiative, which has been held annually on October 6 since 2016 to educate residents and prescribers on the risks of prescription opioids and to raise awareness of the opioid crisis throughout the state.

The 2022 Learning Series included 12 webinars that drew a total audience of more than 8,000 participants and featured various speakers discussing all aspects of the opioid epidemic, including Sam Quinones, Author of “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic”; Dr. Andrew Kolodny, Medical Director of Opioid Policy Research, Heller School for Social Policy and Management; and former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey. Other speakers included representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey State Police, National Institute on Drug Abuse, New Jersey Department of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Addiction and New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

NJ CARES data shows that nearly 2,900 people in New Jersey died from suspected drug overdoses in 2022. A vast majority of these overdose deaths involved some form of opioid including prescription painkillers, heroin and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

To learn more about the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day and for a schedule of webinars, please visit knockoutday.drugfreenj.org.

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Best known for its statewide anti-drug advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception the Partnership has garnered 217 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.