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Sean D. Reyes
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Celebrating National Recovery Month

September 25, 2020

Each September, we observe National Recovery Month to bring awareness to substance abuse resources and mental health services and celebrate the strides in recovery for those struggling with addiction. Below are some resources available:

Utah Naloxone

Naloxone (Narcan) reverses an opioid overdose if given in time, causing the effects of the opioid to reverse, which gives time for first responders to arrive. Naloxone is available in easy-to-use rescue kits that are legal to have and administer if you suspect someone is overdosing on opioids. Naloxone kits can be picked up from Salt Lake County libraries, no questions asked; from select pharmacies and physicians; and from Utah Naloxone. Contact Utah Naloxone at www.utahnaloxone.org.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides a treatment locator for substance abuse/addiction and mental health problems. Find a treatment location near you here. Additionally, SAMHSA provided information, webinars, and events for Recover Month here.

Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health

The Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health provides local resources and services for Utahns including resources for addiction recovery, mental health, and prevention. For more information go here.

211 Utah

211 is a three-digit number that connects people to services they need such as mental health, addiction, housing, resources, etc. 211 is free, confidential, and can help you find assistance from organizations across Utah. For more information, go here or call 211.

Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA)

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

Stop the Opidemic

Stop the Opidemic was created by the Utah Department of Health to provide information and resources for substance abuse. For more information and to view their list of resources including treatment centers and support, go here.

If you are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to the numbers and resources below:

  • SafeUT – Download the free SafeUT app to message a crisis counselor. Available 24/7.
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Available 24/7.
  • Crisis Text Line – Text HOME to 741741. Available 24/7.
  • University Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI) warm line – 801-587-1055. Available 8am to 11pm, 7 days a week.
  • University Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI) crisis line – 801-587-3000. Available 24/7.

Remember, recovery is possible, and you are not alone. While this month we observe National Recovery Month, let us continue to share resources and celebrate recovery each month of the year.

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:

Opioids Have Killed at Least 460,000 Americans

October 25, 2019

Opioids have killed at least 460,000 Americans over the last 20 years. That’s approaching the death toll of World War II and the Vietnam War combined.

It is a priority of the Utah Attorney General’s Office to combat the opioid crisis in Utah. The AG’s Office has joined states across the nation in multiple lawsuits against some of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies, such as Purdue Pharmaceuticals – a company that additionally faces hundreds of lawsuits by other government entities. There are many more ongoing investigations regarding the company’s primary impact on the opioid crisis.

That’s not all.  There are many more lawsuits filed against pharmaceutical companies from other states, cities, counties, and Native American tribes. Below is an excerpt from the Deseret News article, Opioids killed at least 460,000 Americans, Now the manufacturers face a reckoning, detailing the process.

While settlements and rumors of cash awards circulate, the sheer volume of lawsuits and proposals and different governments involved — including states and cities and Native American tribes — means any final award tally is very much up in the air.

Lawsuits may be negotiated separately, then there’s a process for determining who gets what and that’s bound to be complicated, with formulas that consider many different factors. Those factors include how big a state’s population is and how severe the problem has been in each one, income levels and more, said Richard Piatt, spokesman for Utah’s Attorney General’s Office. It amounts to a lot of moving pieces — and the process can move quite slowly.

Nor is all the help coming from lawsuits. The Trump administration announced in September $1.8 billion in grants to help states and local governments combat the opioid epidemic, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Utah’s share is $24 million.

Opioids Killed at least 460,000 Americans. Now the manufacturers face a reckoning.
By Lois M. Collins, Deseret News

The opioid crisis affects people of every age, gender, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. The Utah Attorney General’s Office urges everyone to safely, and appropriately dispose of unused and expired medications in your home to help combat the opioid crisis. Tomorrow is Utah Take Back Day from 10 AM to 2 PM across the state. Find the disposal box closest to you at utahtakeback.org.

In addition, Walgreens houses medication disposal boxes in their stores. Riverton City recently launched a new medication disposal program that integrated large, blue disposal boxes containing NarcX, a solution that dissolves and destroys opioid medications.

If you or someone you know is struggling with opioid addiction, make sure you keep a Naloxone kit on hand – you will save a life.

A Look at the Utah Town Hall on Opioids

May 7, 2019

Recently the Utah Attorney General’s office had the opportunity to join Utah DEA and Utah Naloxone for an Opioid Town Hall, hosted by former Fox News host Eric Bolling.

Part of Addicted Utah, an ongoing series by KUTV, the town hall included Assistant AG Scott Reed, Utah Naloxone co-founder Dr. Jennifer Plumb, DEA District Agent in Charge Brian Besser, and was moderated by 2News anchor, Jim Spiewak.

The town hall featured stories of former addicts, addressed the increase in opioid and non-fatal drug overdoses and the danger of Benzo’s, as well as impact on veterans, how to recognize an overdose, and steps being taken to combat the opioid epidemic in Utah.

“This is an unprecedented time for all of us. We need more than ever to work together – a concerted effort to understand and to defeat the problem as a community.”

Utah Assistant Attorney General Scott Reed

You can watch Town Hall Your Voice, Your Future – Opioids: A National Crisis below.

For more information on the effect of opioids in Utah, visit KUTV’s Addicted Utah series.

Utah opioid overdose deaths are down, thanks to Utah Naloxone

Part of the Utah Opioid Task Force, co-chaired by Attorney General Sean D. Reyes along with U.S. Senator Mike Lee and DEA District Agent-in-Charge Brian Besser, Utah Naloxone is a game-changer in the fight against opioids in the State of Utah. The Utah Attorney General’s office is proud of the work Utah Naloxone co-founder, Dr. Jennifer Plumb, has accomplished and is privileged to partner with her and her organization as we address the opioid epidemic in our great state.

For Immediate Release

UTAH NALOXONE REACHES MAJOR MILESTONE

SALT LAKE CITY – More than 3,000 people in Utah have a second chance at life thanks to the efforts of Utah Naloxone. All of these individuals were given the medication naloxone (Narcan) during an opioid overdose by a non-medical layperson around them. Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose if given in time, causing the effects of the opioid to reverse and bringing them back. Opioids include pain pills, heroin, and fentanyl.

All of these life-saving doses were administered by non-medical members of our community who obtained rescue kits from Utah Naloxone or one of its Overdose Outreach Provider partners just for this purpose. The recent reports bringing us to this milestone came from our partners at One Voice
Recovery (OVR) who work across the state of Utah to educate on substance use disorder, work to decrease stigma, as well as to reduce infectious disease transmission and overdose deaths. These direct community partners are a major contributor to saving lives across Utah.

The number of lives saved by naloxone has been attributed as a large part of why Utah is seeing a decline in the number of opioid deaths. We were one of only seven states in 2017 where the death rate is going down. And as the number of people who are surviving an opioid overdose and making it to an emergency room for care is rising – almost doubling from 2015 to 2017 (1.5/10,000 in 2015 to 2.8/10,000 in 2017). People are saving lives and giving people a chance to survive to make it to an ER which alters outcomes for our state.

There is still work to be done. Overdose is still the leading cause of injury death in the state, and Utah still is among states with a high rate of overdose deaths. If you or someone you know is taking opioids you should have Naloxone on hand in case of an overdose. Naloxone kits are available through Utah Naloxone. It is legal to possess the drug, and legal to administer it if you suspect someone is overdosing on opioids. For more information go to