For Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, it’s personal.
Griffin met with student leaders and administrators at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Monday, Sept. 8, as part of the “One Pill Can Kill” initiative, which is aimed at raising awareness of illegal fentanyl use.
“Years ago, I had a campaign volunteer who was a student at the University of Arkansas,” Griffin said. “He got addicted to opioids and is no longer with us. My brother had back surgery that went terribly wrong, and was addicted to opioids, prescription ones, and died in March. So I get it. I totally get it.”
Fentanyl is a highly-addictive painkiller that can be obtained illegally or via prescription. According to provisions figures from the Arkansas Department of Health, 389 fentanyl deaths have taken place in Arkansas since July.
“Illicit opioids that are on the street today are even more dangerous than the prescription drug opioids,” Griffin said. “At a minimum, at least with the prescription-drug opioids, you know what you’re holding.”
The One Pill Can Kill initiative made its in-state debut at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville just over a year ago, and is focused on education and overdose-prevention on college campuses. The program includes what the Office of the Attorney General calls “Fentanyl Harm Prevention Kits” that will be provided on campus. The kits include a test strip for the drug, protective gloves, a drug-disposal bag and a pill-identification card.
The initiative also calls for the training of college students and staff, with a focus on identifying the symptoms of fentanyl overdose, how to test consumable products for fentanyl, and how to properly administer the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. For UA Little Rock, that training began Monday at the Donaghy Student Center on campus.
Griffin said Monday that around 120 people had signed on for the training. In addition, the Office of the Attorney General is planning to purchase vending-type devices for college campuses that will provide free and ready access to naloxone. Griffin indicated that his goal is to bring training and resources to each of Arkansas’ two and four-year colleges.
“I think we have 120 students that have signed up,” Griffin said. “That’s a really big deal. That’s what we call in the Army a ‘force multiplier.’ We’re going to equip those people, and they’re going to be evangelists of sorts for what people should do.”
READ ALSO: Blog: Speaking Up Can Save Lives From Prostate Cancer
