Activists spotlight night visions and drug overdoses in a free webinar.
“Fentanyl at Night” is the name of a free webinar aimed at educating nightlife business owners, event producers and community leaders on how to stop overdosing on the night scene.
“We’re going to talk about how fentanyl affects people in that environment and what we can do about it and be proactive about,” says Narcan Nate. One Nathan Smiddy said. He has been distributing Narcan his kit and fentanyl his test his strips to the community and is also one of his webinar speakers.
Sumidi said drugs in night scenes are more common than people think and can save someone’s life if they’re prepared.
“People hate to admit this, but if you have a restaurant, (or) a bar, (or) a club, people are going to use drugs in your establishment. “These drugs may contain fentanyl, which consumers may not know, and often dealers may not know.”
Smiddy said the webinar is meant to be proactive. He has worked to provide overdose reversal and prevention kits to all facilities that have an interest in them.
“Would you like to have naloxone on hand and save someone’s life?” he asked, outlining what would happen to the business without the kit.
Marketing Director Brittany Leach has worked in the Hillcrest nightclub scene for over a decade.
“Drugs have always been there, as they are in any bar or club in any era. But this fentanyl crisis coming around the corner at least feels so. “It’s serious, it’s harsh, it’s fast. We’ve seen it before in our community,” she said. “I feel we need to go into crisis mode.”
Leach said many of the business owners she works with are aware of the drug overdose problem and are taking the time to train staff on overdose recovery.
“You don’t have to be a drug addict for this to affect you,” she said. We are trying to put Narkan in as many facilities as we can. We will train our staff and make sure they understand how to use it.”
But many companies don’t want to offer naloxone for fear of being labeled as where the drug is used.Leach said it’s a stereotype that needs to be turned around.
“We have to be honest about what’s going on. It’s everywhere. The best thing we can do is be prepared. That’s it. We’re not playing, somebody. The best thing we can do is “provide help and answers,” Leach said.
The “Fentanyl at Night” webinar is open and will be held on Wednesdays at 1:00 PM. Registration information can be found here.