Opioids & Stimulants Awareness Month
For 2024, Opioids & Stimulants Awareness Month in the Florida Courts will take place in May -- hand in hand with Problem-Solving Courts Month in Florida and Treatment Courts Month at the national level.
Awareness Month is an important time for awareness building, fostering partnerships, and taking action to address issues and impacts of substance use disorders. See more in the Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice proclamation
for 2023 Awareness Month -- and now's the time to plan for 2024, while keeping the momentum going from activities and initiatives of September 2023.
More to come soon and see the roster of 2024 Circuit Champion appointees. The Champions play a vital leadership role in awareness raising at the circuit level, including through Awareness Month initiatives.
Issues & Needs
Courts across the country have been heavily impacted by the opioid and stimulant epidemics. Misuse and illicit uses of opioids and stimulants exact a severe toll on the lives of millions as well. Impacts range from the human suffering associated with drug addiction, physical and mental impairments, overdoses, and death. Family disruption, job losses, increased crime, and taxpayer expense to address these and related problems in the justice, social services, and health care systems are among other serious effects. Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. soared almost 30% in the pandemic year of 2020. Opioid dependance and addiction from prescription medications is also now a widely known problem with devastating consequences.
Both the scale and effects of the problem have grown notably due to a combination of unfortunate forces – from new and fast-emerging drug types of increasing potency … to cheaper and easier methods of producing dangerous drugs and making them available at low cost … to the flood of drugs entering the country from foreign markets …to the lacing of drugs with more dangerous contents, unbeknownst to buyers/consumers … to the impacts of the COVID pandemic and other stressful events motivating increased drug use. The courts have an important role to play in fostering solutions, including effective treatment and recovery support for those battling addiction.
Taking Action
The opportunities for awareness raising are many. Everyone can make a difference through expanding the knowledge and skills of ourselves and others, equipping and inspiring all to contribute and implement solutions.
Consult the resources on this website and those of your designated Circuit Champions, among other valuable tools and sources on the subject.
Consider what you can do to make a difference. While the magnitude of the challenge is great, so is the power of determined and collaborative action!
From 2022 Awareness Month
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From 2021 Awareness Month:
Acknowledgements to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the
Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) for their support of 2019 - 2022 Awareness Months.