ASAP to host forum in overdose prevention series

Published 12:37 pm Friday, March 17, 2017

The Clark County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (ASAP) will host a community forum and overdose prevention class at 7 p.m. March 23 at the Clark County Homeless Coalition, 19 Wainscott Ave.

The forum is one of several meetings the organization has hosted since 2016.

“We are having these events at various locations around town in an effort to reach different segments of our population,” ASAP Coordinator Melissa Stocker said.

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The forum will address several topics, including recognizing an overdose and knowing how to respond. The meeting will include training on the use of Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug.

Training will be administered by Tanya Meeks of StopHeroinLexington, and those in attendance will be given a free Narcan kit.

Clark County Health Director Scott Lockard will be a guest speaker at the meeting to update those in attendance about the state of public health in the community.

ASAP also wants to educate people on the “good samaritan law,” which states someone who calls 911 to help someone else who is overdosing will not face criminal charges themselves if they have also been using illegal substances.

The group will also offer information on the county’s needle exchange program, which is operated by the Clark County Health Department and aims to remove contaminated syringes from circulation to prevent the spread of intravenous disease.