Northeast Delta HSA partners with True Releaf CBD/Hemp Store to provide Drug Deactivation and Disposal Container

Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) unveiled a Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal System Container on Tuesday, November 28, at True Releaf CBD/Hemp Store, located at 611 N. 4th Street, Monroe, La. 71201. This is the first partnership between a state agency and a Cannabidiol (CBD) store to help increase harm reduction efforts by ensuring additional safe spaces for disposal and fentanyl testing of products.

MONROE, La. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) unveiled a Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal System Container on Tuesday, November 28, at True Releaf CBD/Hemp Store, located at 611 N. 4th Street, Monroe, La. 71201. This is the first partnership between a state agency and a Cannabidiol (CBD) store to help increase harm reduction efforts by ensuring additional safe spaces for disposal and fentanyl testing of products.

NEDHSA purchased the Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal Container, for the public to access and use at no cost and with no questions asked. Drug Deactivation and Disposal System Containers provide safe, convenient, and permanent disposal of unused, expired, or unwanted medications.

"We are connecting more strategically and intentionally with communities and local businesses to join us as we seek to battle mental illness and addiction," Dr. Sizer said. "When evidence-based treatment and training are expanded, we will provide even more accessible, quality, and competent care to those in our region."

Dr. Sizer also added that "Drug Deactivation and Disposal Container initiatives have proven to be an effective weapon in helping to combat the opioid crisis."

"As an agency, we intend to offer our region as many opioid and other drug mitigating strategies as possible to help reduce addiction rates and early death," Dr. Sizer said.

True Releaf Owner and Licensed Addiction Counselor Markus Bosley said, "partnering with NEDHSA to help enhance harm reduction efforts through the CBD/Hemp community creates another avenue and opportunity to educate individual about the harmful effects of fentanyl and provide a safe space to dispose unused pills."

"As a licensed addiction counselor and business owner with over 100 employees, this work pairs well with my personal and professional mission to empower communities and see them thrive," Bosley said. "I am grateful for Dr. Sizer's vision to see the CBD/Hemp community as contributors to harm reduction and bringing attention to how we can all play a vital role in combating the opioid epidemic."

Overdose deaths in the United States involving fentanyl and stimulants have increased more than 50-fold since 2010, a new study found. Published in the peer-reviewed journal "Addiction" in September 2023, researchers say 235 deaths due to this mix of drugs occurred in 2010 (0.6 percent) compared with 34,429 deaths in 2021 (32.3 percent). Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid akin to morphine but more potent, which is sometimes abused on its own or found laced in other drugs.

In addition to the Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal System Containers, another way for people who use drugs to potentially avoid overdose from unknown levels of fentanyl in their drugs is to make it possible for them to check their drugs for fentanyl before they use them. NEDHSA provides fentanyl drug testing strips that have proved to be extremely easy to use and very effective, detecting the presence of fentanyl almost 100 percent of the time. Distribution and use of these strips can be a crucial factor in avoiding overdoses, even among people who use drugs other than opioids.

NEDHSA is the state provider for 12 parishes in northeast Louisiana and oversees the administration of its Opioid Response Plan. This plan is tasked with decreasing the effects of the opioid epidemic in Northeast Louisiana through five pillars the state's response has been built on: surveillance, prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery. NEDHSA, through its Prevention and Wellness Department, provides the Opioid Misuse and Abuse Prevention Program (OMAPP), which is funded by the Louisiana State Opioid Response (LaSOR) Grant that provides services such as Narcan training and distribution, safe medication storage and disposal products, grief counseling, nursing and peer support services through the crisis mobile team and evidenced-based programs like LifeSkills and Generation Rx. All of these services are provided at no cost to all who reside in NEDHSA's catchment area.

Dr. Sizer said, "we will continue to be intentional about scaling our Integrated Healthcare model in Louisiana's Delta."

"We will be more focused on helping mayors, municipal leaders, school superintendents, business executives and entrepreneurs, and law enforcement officials better understand the connection between jobs, housing, municipal infrastructure, education, food deserts, poverty, and behavioral and primary health outcomes. We must think and act systemically if we hope to see significant population health improvements," Dr. Sizer said.

Media Contact

DeRon Talley, Northeast Delta HSA, 318-237-9973, [email protected], www.nedeltahsa.org

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SOURCE Northeast Delta HSA