Following State Attorney General’s Warning of Candy Looking Fentanyl, Local Non-profit Takes Action and Educated Families While Providing Safe Trick-or-Treating

Top Quote After Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody warned parents of rainbow fentanyl in candy wrappers, local non-profit, Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW) Florida chapter, ensured over 5000 kids had a safe Halloween. End Quote
  • Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (1888PressRelease) December 07, 2022 - During Red Ribbon Week, a nationally observed drug awareness week at the end of October, and just ahead of Halloween, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody warned parents of rainbow fentanyl in candy wrappers. i A local non-profit, Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW) Florida chapter, wanted to ensure kids had a safe Halloween and helped provide safe trick-or-treating by participating in five different Halloween events in Tampa Bay. As a result they distributed over 17,000 candies, educated 5,000 youth and their parents with the “Truth About Drugs” informational booklet, and over 3,200 youth signed the drug-free pledge.

    Parents were very pleased to have a safe place for their kids to trick-or-treat and happily took the drug education materials to educate their children. They also strongly encouraged them to sign the drug-free pledge.

    Fentanyl is a highly lethal synthetic opioid and just two milligrams can be deadly. According to the Florida Attorney General, in the last few months, law enforcement seized enough Fentanyl to kill the entire population of Florida. ii

    In 2021, provisional data from CDC estimate more than 107,000 people died of a drug overdose, with 75% of those deaths involving an opioid. The overall rise in overdose deaths is largely attributable to the proliferation in the drug supply of illicit fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid. iii

    “Drugs are scary. They create real life horror stories. No parent wants to lose a child to drugs,” said Ms. Julieta Santagostino, the President of FDFW Florida Chapter. “It’s important for youth to get the facts about drugs, so they can stand up to peer pressure and make the right decision to live drug-free.”

    FDFW provides free drug education materials to make it easy for parents, educators and others in the community to educate youth on this important subject.

    FDFW’s educational materials include 14 different information booklets on the most commonly abused drugs, such as marijuana, alcohol, heroin and painkillers, and a documentary “The Truth About Drugs - Real People Real Stories.” There are also free online courses utilizing the booklets and videos.

    To order materials, sign up for the online courses or get more information visit: www.drugfreeworld.org

    About Foundation for a Drug-Free World:
    The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free. Through a worldwide network of volunteers, 50 million drug prevention booklets have been distributed and tens of thousands of drug awareness events have been held in some 180 countries. The Foundation’s “Truth About Drugs” public service announcements have been aired on more than 500 television stations. Supported by the Church of Scientology internationally, the materials and activities in 20 languages have helped people around the world learn about the destructive side effects of drugs and thereby make the decision for themselves to not use them. iv

    About Red Ribbon Week:
    The first Red Ribbon Celebration was organized in 1986 by a grassroots organization of parents concerned about the destruction caused by alcohol and drug abuse. The red ribbon was adopted in honor of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, kidnapped and killed in 1985 while investigating drug traffickers. The campaign has reached millions of children and has been recognized by the U.S. Congress. v

    i http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/77FD8077FEF61616852588E6004EABBC#:~:text=TALLAHASSEE%2C%20Fla.,in%20toy%20and%20candy%20boxes

    ii http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/CD88A3ED38AEB6E7852588E70050D36B

    iii https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2022/07/percentage-of-overdose-deaths-involving-methadone-declined-between-january-2019-august-2021#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20provisional%20data%20from,a%20highly%20potent%20synthetic%20opioid.

    iv https://www.drugfreeworld.org/about-us/about-the-foundation.html

    v https://www.redribbon.org/about

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