Hospital Overdose Statistics Show a Need for Reform

Hospital visitation caused by prescription drug abuse is skyrocketing, new research shows. NOPE Task Force looks at urging legislators to require hospitals to do more to help overdose patients.
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My Son May Still Have Been Alive Today

This original article was posted on July 27, 2010 on the Of Substance Blog managed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
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Commentary: Federal Government Needs Help in New Anti-Drug Policy

The new National Drug Control Strategy is ambitious, but states and cities must do their share in fighting drugs. They need to enact laws and policies at the local level that can reverse prescription drug abuse.
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Loved Ones Live on in Memorial Pages

Hundreds of people who died of drugs are memorialized on the NOPE Task Force website through words, photos and images. The number of memorials has increased in recent years, reflecting the nation’s growing prescription drug abuse problem.
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A Mother’s Crusade

After her son and his friend died of methadone poisoning, Brenda Hoffman got involved with a NOPE Task Force chapter in Lassen County, Calif. She speaks frequently about the growing number of deaths associated with abusing methadone and other painkiller pills.
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A Mother Starts NOPE Chapter to Tell Her Stepson’s Story

Laurie Serra worked with police and community leaders to begin chapter in Pinellas County near Tampa, Fla. Her group of volunteers plans to speak at dozens of schools.
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New NOPE Chapter Targets Hard-To-Reach Teens

St. Lucie County in central Florida started the chapter in March to fight the rising drug overdose rate. School presentations are intended to educate youths about using drugs.
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With New Overdose Profile, NOPE Task Force and Partners Set to Battle Pills Abuse

He was a 39-year-old white man. He had a high school education. He often worked in construction or sales. He had a history of drug abuse. He was a patient of a pain management clinic. That’s the profile of a typical person who has died of a drug overdose in Palm Beach County, Fla. -- and likely many other parts of the country, according to new research by Gary Martin, a detective and psychotherapist who analyzed 207 overdose deaths in Palm Beach County in 2007 and 2008.
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