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Sean D. Reyes
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Utah Opioid Task Force Presents on Resources Helping Combat the Opioid Crisis

March 6, 2020

This week, the Utah Opioid Task Force hosted a Lunch & Learn featuring four TED Talk-style presentations on the types of community-based information and education seminars that the Task Force intends to develop and deliver in 2020.

Listen to the presentations below:

Chief Tom Ross with the Bountiful Police Department presented on the pilot project Davis County Receiving Center which offers a chance at recovery rather than jail time. The Receiving Center opened in December 2019. Read more here.

Dr. Jennifer Plumb with Utah Naloxone presented on the importance of having a Naloxone kit if you or someone you know is struggling with addiction. Naloxone saves lives by reversing an opioid overdose and giving first responders time to arrive. Plumb demonstrated the easy-to-use kit and discussed how to recognize an overdose. For more information, go here.

Anna Fondario with the Utah Department of Health presented on resources provided by the Department, their current efforts to combat the opioid crisis, and the Department of Health Data Dashboard, which provides an interactive, visual presentation of health data in Utah with the intent to provide actionable health-related data. Check out the Dashboard here and check out Stop the Opidemic, a campaign that can help you find resources and information on the opioid epidemic in Utah.  

Evan Done with Utah Support Advocates for Recover Awareness (USARA) discussed their peer-based recovery support system for those struggling with an opioid addiction. Their services focus on the reality of long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs for individuals and their families in Utah. For more information go here.

Watch the presentations below:

Utah Opioid Task Force focuses on what’s next

December 5, 2018

The Utah Opioid Task Force, co-chaired by Senator Mike Lee, DEA District Agent in Charge Brian Besser, and Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, had its quarterly meeting to discuss several topics for next steps following the Utah Solutions Summit, which focused on the opioid crisis in the state of Utah. Here’s a brief recap. 

  • Opioid Summit Report: Attendance surpassed expectations. The goal was to reach 5,000 between the morning session geared toward students and the afternoon spent resourcing the community. In reality, over 9,000 students and community members showed up and participated in the event. The big takeaway from the Summit was the powerful impact it had on the students in attendance. Many students download both the SafeUT App and the FENDMovement App – each of which has proven effective in students with helpful resources.
  • Dr. Eric Garland from the University of Utah College of Social Work spoke on mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement (MORE). The research and evidence on this are showing remarkable results. It shows one can reduce the physiological response to opioid addiction, which is a huge answer for those who are suffering.
  • Gary Tennis, President of the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws (NAMSDL), provided a great perspective on national drug laws and included information regarding police-assisted recovery from opioid addiction. 
  • Chief Tom Ross, of the Bountiful Police Department, spoke about what police deal with on the streets. A pilot program is being developed to create options for addicts to go to the intensive treatment programs in lieu of criminal charges. This is a course of action the AG’s office has been assisting with and promoting.

Following the meeting, Assistant AG Scott Reed, Coordinator of the Utah Opioid Task Force, took time to share with KSL-TV about the success of Solutions Summit. You can watch the interview below.