LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - At THV11 we are working to save a generation. Our mission is to educate you about the opioid crisis and to eliminate the stigma of addiction.
The State Drug Director’s office is making it easier to educate the public about the epidemic by offering valuable resources and information just a click away.
“We call it the Arkansas opidemic, a catchy word that brings attention to a very serious epidemic that we are having not only in our state but in our country,” said Arkansas Drug Director Kirk Lane.
The ‘opidemic,’ as Lane refers to it, is responsible for the deaths of 64,000 people in the United States in 2016 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a problem Lane is working every day to solve.
“Education is the key to solving this problem,” said Lane.
One of those methods of education is ARTakeBack.org. The state's website has been in operation since 2011, funded by seized cash and property from people suspected of crimes.
“It really started as a way to give information restrictively to the Drug Take Back and where those locations would be,” said Lane. “It was innovative in the fact that somebody could put in their address or their zip code and they could find out where the closest Drug Take Back site was to them.”
Recently the website underwent a major upgrade, taking it from a helpful tool to locate drop-off sites for unused or expired medications to a full-fledged resource on the epidemic.
“We added on the 24-hour sites and built from that to what it is today; a resource for Arkansans to see not only Drug Take Back activity, but recovery efforts and prevention efforts. Good information and toolkits from a lot of our federal departments will be on there to give people information,” said Lane.
Another new addition to the site is the portal, where doctors and prescribers have access to resources like never before to better serve patients.
“Doctors and prescribers need more information about how to properly prescribe under the CDC guidelines and different information about alternative prescribing,” said Lane. “The portal is reportable to the medical board or the board associated with that prescriber and they can go there and get information at their desk free of charge on the latest CDC guidelines the latest certified training that we feel they need to have.”
The site also offers resources for parents on how to talk to their kids about drugs, recovery and treatment options for those who are struggling and support information for family and friends.
“It’s still growing and it’s still a work in progress so viewers can see a lot of great things to come,” said Lane.
For more information visit ARTakeBack.org.