By Kathy Miles, Boyle County ASAP

We live in a time of misinformation.  It’s not easy to know the truth about a lot of challenging issues. That certainly is the case when it comes to substance use questions.  Questions about tobacco and other nicotine, alcohol, legal drugs, and illegal drugs abound.

It’s probably because of the huge number of such questions, and the large amount of incorrect and dangerous sources of information on the internet, that there is now a nationally designated week, National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week. This year, that week was March 18 to 24.

Boyle County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (ASAP) is saving you some research time and sharing some locally relevant facts below, with the hope that you will use this correct information, to help us make our community safer:

• Vapes do not just contain nicotine.  Just ask our local teachers and school system staff members, and you will learn that local youth are also vaping other substances.  Kentucky law prohibits sales of vape products to anyone under 21.  You can report violations to local law enforcement.
• The opioid crisis understandably gets lots of publicity, but alcohol misuse and alcohol addiction continue to be major sources of concern.  Just ask our local EMS first responders.  Alcohol poisoning is very serious, and can be life-threatening.
• Illegal fentanyl, a synthetic opioid at least 50 times stronger than heroin, continues to be a factor in most of our local overdoses and overdose deaths.  Ask our local EMS first responders about this fact as well.
• Many people who overdose on fentanyl haven’t taken it knowingly.  This is a fact for all parents to note:  Fentanyl is often added to other drugs, and can easily be made into counterfeit pills.  The message to youth and adults alike is:  Don’t take pills not prescribed for you, even if friends or family offer them.  It’s just too dangerous.
• According to the U.K. Healing Communities Study staff in a recent “fact vs. fiction” news release, a person who comes in contact with, or touches a person who has overdosed on fentanyl, cannot overdose themselves.
• Narcan (Naloxone) does work to reverse an overdose on fentanyl as well as other opioids.  Everyone should carry it, regardless of whether they think they know someone with Opioid Use Disorder or not.  Call 911 immediately if you believe someone has overdosed.
• Free Narcan is available to Boyle County residents through the Boyle County Health Department.  Call 859-236-2053 for more information.
• The DEA has begun a new campaign, asking every American to “Make Every Day Take Back Day” in their homes.   We can all do our part to fight the drug crisis by taking our unused medications to proper disposal boxes in Boyle County.  Two of those sites are the Danville Police Department in City Hall, and at the Boyle County Sheriff’s Department in the Boyle County Courthouse.

Getting the facts, and acting on accurate information makes a huge difference, and saves lives.  For more fact checking, one trusted source of facts is www.drugfree.org.