Benton Police Department launched today a month-long drug abuse awareness campaign. “You Use You Lose” will equip citizens with information and action steps aimed at reducing drug abuse and overdose and will culminate with an Rx Take Back event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28 at Ferguson’s Furniture in Benton.
Chief Scotty Hodges said the campaign is one of many BNPD has initiated and participated in over the past several years and will continue to do so as long as drug abuse affects the lives of Arkansans.
“We make it a priority at BNPD to be proactive in the fight against drug abuse and overdose. It’s a problem that affects thousands of lives- and unfortunately takes the lives of hundreds of Arkansans every year. Whether through Rx Take Back events or training agencies on the use of the opioid antidote naloxone, we will continue our efforts to ensure the overdose epidemic becomes a thing of the past.”
He added that the large national focus on the opioid epidemic is warranted and that a large portion of this campaign will focus on opioid abuse and overdose as well.
“Events such as Rx Take Back are imperative in the fight against the opioid epidemic, but we realize there are many more aspects to address. At the same time, we also don’t want to ignore the other forms of drug abuse and overdose, so we will bring a broad range of information to our audience.”
More information will follow regarding the Rx Take Back event, and Hodges noted the BNPD social media sites will be instrumental in broadcasting campaign information.
For more information, contact BNPD at 501-776-5948 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
