By Michael V. Crismali, Correspondent
East Windsor Township and the local alliance for prevention of substance abuse issued a proclamation designating Oct. 6, 2016, as “Knock Out Opiate Abuse” day at the Oct. 4 council meeting.
The proclamation was issued in partnership and recognition of the goals and efforts of the Governors Council on alcohol and drug abuse at the NJ Department of Human Services.
According to Mayor Janice Mironov, there are studies that have shown a strong correlation in the reliance of opiates leading to addiction problems. The mayor explained that the purpose of the proclamation was twofold: (1) To educate families and communities to be more aware of the issue; (2) To engage physicians and other medical professional on ways to help reduce reliance on opiates.
Deputy Mayor Pete Yeager, who serves as the coordinator for the East Windsor Municipal Alliance, thanked the mayor and council for helping promote this day. He said he was hopeful that the proclamation and the events of Oct. 6 will help increase awareness, which will ultimately save lives.
Edward Meara, Mercer County Municipal Alliance coordinator, noted that addiction does not discriminate.
“This is a problem that affects not only our county and our state, but our country,” he said.
The goal of the statewide single-day initiative was to mobilize families, prevention and treatment communities, community leaders and concerned citizens and use this “grassroots” approach to promote awareness about the potential for dependency on prescribed pain medicine and its link to heroine abuse rates in New Jersey.
Officials also planned to continue working with physicians, prevention professionals, and elected officials to work toward eliminating the addiction to opiates. Volunteers on Oct. 6 were equipped with information and “door knocker” hang tags, which included a public service announcement with information on the link between prescribed opiates and heroin abuse.
