Brown Memorial’s Urban Witness group is sponsoring a discussion Nov. 12 after worship led by Scott Nolen from the Open Society Institute-Baltimore about how the national opioid crisis is affecting our city, the factors contributing to this, and the effectiveness of our health department’s policy to have the antidote Naloxone (Narcan) widely available.
According to news reports, opioid overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates about 64,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016 alone. This is more than the total U.S. military fatalities in the Vietnam War.
Questions that will be asked on Nov. 12 by Mr. Nolen, who is the Drug Addition Treatment Director for the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, will include – How does this crisis affect Baltimore? Does it contribute to violence? What remedies are there for drug addiction? What role does physician prescribing and pharmaceutical company advertising of pain relief from opioids play in this crisis? Is there a role we as citizens and as a church should assume either through advocating policies or even personal involvement, such as spreading the word about the effectiveness of naloxone in saving lives?
Members of Urban Witness will provide a potluck lunch of bread, soup and salad during this post-worship event, but additional lunch contributions are welcome. Spread the word about this event using the event flyer.