Mile High Behavioral Healthcare wants to keep Coloradans safe from overdoses this New Year's Eve
Lots of people will be dancing the night away Sunday night at Decadence Colorado -- a music festival in Denver -- and harm reduction specialists will be there too to avoid overdoses and make sure everyone makes it home safe.
Zack Jenio, the program manager for Bee The Vibe, a harm reduction program, says every drug user is at risk.
"It could be in cocaine, it could be in MDMA. People might think that 'I'm not doing x, y, z, heavier or harder drugs, I'm okay. I'm different than them,' right? It can still affect people," says Jenio.
Just this week, the Boulder County Coroner warned that they've had two deaths linked to Nitazene, an opioid much more powerful than Fentanyl. That and the proliferation of fentanyl is why Mile High Behavioral Healthcare and their partners like Bee The Vibe are handing out naloxone kits -- more commonly referred to as "Narcan" -- to partygoers at Decadence on New Year's Eve. They say their kit already prevented one overdose on Saturday.
"We know that Narcan and naloxone are saving lives. But we know as well that us distributing it at that event is saving lives there," said Jenio.
They say you never know who might need a dose because opioid abuse affects all communities.
"You don't know if someone you love, someone you know or someone on the street might be experiencing an overdose," said Jenio.
So, no matter where you are celebrating this New Year's Eve, harm reduction specialists say having a naloxone nasal pump is a necessity.
"Naloxone, like a Band-Aid, it's something that we need to have in our first aid kits," said Jenio.
Naloxone is available over the counter. If you plan on using drugs there are other ways to make sure you and your friends and family are safe. You can use fentanyl test kits and make sure you are using with a designated non-user who can give you a naloxone shot if you need one.
