Gillian Ranes
Freshmen Honors Program Blogging
Knock Out Opiates Day- October 6th 2016
The event that I attended was called “Knock Out Opiates” and it was a volunteer activity for the R.I.S.E A.B.O.V.E (Rise Above) club. Rise Above is a club that I am an active member and it stands for: Ready to Inspire Students to Excel And Better Our Various Experiences at Stockton University. The event was held on October 6th, which is national “Knock Out Opiates” day. The purpose of the activity was to raise awareness about the over-prescription of opiates, which are drugs with morphine like effects. The over-prescription of opiates usually leads to an addiction, no matter the age or socio-economic background of that person. Opiates are very expensive drugs, so the dependence often leads to an addiction to heroin, which is a cheaper and more easily accessible version of expensive, prescribed opiates such as Codeine, Vicodin, Oxycotin, Percocet, and more.
The event featured driving over to the Sun Rise Bay apartment and condominium complex, where many Stockton University students reside, and walking around to every apartment and car to hang up door hangers that said “Knock Out Opiates” on them. The door hangers also featured many useful and intriguing facts about opiate use and the situation going on in America regarding them.
I found the event to be very useful because I learned so much and hopefully other people, who live in the Sun Rise Bay apartments, will as well. This national problem is an issue that is very important to me and I feel as though the prescription of opiates should be limited made into more of a national priority.