Take Action

We need everyone in Georgia to help prevent the abuse and misuse of opioids. There are many ways you can take action:

Join the Statewide Opioid Task Force

Hold an Outreach Event

Drug Take Back

Statewide Opioid Task Force

In 2016, 982 people in the State of Georgia died from an opioid-related drug overdose. To address this crisis head-on, Attorney General Chris Carr announced the creation of a Statewide Opioid Task Force in October 2017.

With this Task Force, the Attorney General seeks to provide an infrastructure of communication between organizations in the public, private, and non-profit sectors to ensure we have effective tools to combat this issue that’s plaguing our state and nation. We must fight back harder, and we believe this platform will help us strengthen our state’s response and save lives.

Today, the Statewide Opioid Task Force includes more than 300 partners from the local, state and federal levels.

Join the Statewide Opioid Task Force by contacting the Department of Law’s Communications Director, Kara Richardson.

Statewide Opioid Task Force Members

Acadia Healthcare

Accenture

ADAPT Pharma

Administrative Office of the Courts

Aetna

Alliant Quality

American Academy of Pediatrics

Aniz Inc.

Anthem, Inc.

Appriss Health

Area Agency on Aging

Atlanta Metropolitan State College

Atlanta Police Department

Atlanta Technical College

Augusta University Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response

CareSource

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery at Kennesaw State University

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

City of Augusta

City of Brunswick

CNHI

Cobb County

CopernicusMD

Council of Accountability Court Judges

Council on Alcohol and Drugs

Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

Cumming First United Methodist Church

CVS Health

Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Free Fayette Coalition

Dunwoody Police Department

Emory University

Fannin County

FBI Atlanta

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Flagler County Drug Court Foundation

Forsyth County

Fort Valley Department of Public Safety

FrogueClark

Fulton County Commissioner

Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals

Georgia Association of Broadcasters

Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police

Georgia Association of Health Plans

Georgia State Board of Pharmacy

Georgia Bureau of Investigation

Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Georgia Composite Medical Board

Georgia Council on Substance Abuse

Georgia Dental Association

Georgia Department of Administrative Services

Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts

Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Georgia Department of Community Health

Georgia Department of Community Supervision

Georgia Department of Education

Georgia Department of Highway Safety

Georgia Department of Public Health

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services

Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency

Georgia General Assembly

Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University

Georgia High School Association

Georgia Hospital Association

Georgia News Network

Georgia Nurses Association

Georgia Office of the Child Advocate

Georgia Opioid State Targeted Response

Georgia Pharmacy Association

Georgia Poison Control Center

Georgia Prevention Project

Georgia Public Broadcasting

Georgia Retail Association

Georgia Sheriffs’ Association

Georgia Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Georgia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians

Georgia State Firefighters Association

Georgia Trial Lawyers Association

Goldenpoint MD

GPA Treatment of Macon, Inc.

Grace Tabernacle Ministries

Grady Health System

Guardian Pharmacy

Haydon Consulting

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Highland Rivers Health

InsiderAdvantage

Intent Solutions

Kaiser Permanente

Mako Medical Laboratories

McGuireWoods

McKesson

Medical Association of Georgia

Metro Atlanta Chamber

Michigan State University

Moeller and Associates

Mohawk Industries

Morehouse School of Medicine

Myers and Stauffer

National AIDS Education and Services for Minorities

Northside Hospital

Northwest Family YMCA

Office of House Speaker David Ralston

Our Kinship Village

Peachford Hospital

Peachtree NORML

Preston Group

Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia

Realty4Rehab

Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center

Sober Peer

Southern Strategy Group

Spring Up

State Bar of Georgia

State Board of Education

State Board of Workers’ Compensation

Steed Media Group

Still Waters Outreach

Street Grace

Summit Spine and Joint Centers

Technical College System of Georgia

The Mullins Companies

Thompson Victory Group

Tift Regional Medical Center

Total Spectrum

Troup County Prevention Coalition

Troutman Pepper

Truetlen County

Tumlin Group

U.S. Army

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

University of Georgia College of Pharmacy

University System of Georgia

Voices for Prevention

Walgreens

WRDW-TV News 12

Hold an Outreach Event

We encourage parent groups, educators, coaches, businesses, the faith community, the medical community, law enforcement, service organizations and others to plan and hold DOSE OF REALITY outreach events to raise awareness at a local level.

Ideas for Outreach Events

These are just a few event ideas to get you started. Be inspired and creative in your efforts, and look at how to engage the target audience as you plan. Make use of the DOSE OF REALITY materials to keep the message unified, consistent and relevant.

DOSE OF REALITY information table

  • Find out if you can set up an information table at your local schools, churches, community events, sporting events, festivals or fairs
  • Promote the event via posters and social media
  • Download relevant brochures, flyers and posters from the Ordering Portal

DOSE OF REALITY Day

Host a DOSE OF REALITY DAY at your business, school or community organization to raise awareness of the issue of substance abuse and how to prevent it.

What You May Need:

Order and download one of the DOSE OF REALITY Outreach Kits appropriate for your audience. Select and download other relevant materials for use.

What You Can Do:

  • Choose a day and promote it via email, website or social media
  • Put up posters in advance with the date of the event
  • Set up an information table using the materials listed above
  • Invite someone from the medical or treatment community to talk about the signs of addiction, what to do if you need help, and how to prevent abuse
  • Invite the local media to cover the awareness day
  • Place a link to DoseOfRealityGA.org on your organization’s website, and/or a link to the Drug Take Back section and encourage people to properly dispose of unwanted and unused medication

Other Ideas

Essay, poster, art or video contest: encourage youth or students to participate in a contest to create a piece that helps support the DOSE OF REALITY prevention message in their own school, church or community. Involve your local media outlets. The winning entry(ies) can be displayed prominently at high-profile venues throughout the community and shared via social media and local media outlets.

Community sporting event: organize a community-wide sporting event (i.e. walk, run, volleyball, basketball or football game) in which players or teams are sponsored to raise awareness. Money raised through fees or donations can be donated to local substance abuse, mental health or recovery organization(s).

DOSE OF REALITY Town Hall: host a community town hall with a panel of local leaders, professionals from the medical and/or substance abuse field, youth leaders, parents, or law enforcement where members of the community can ask questions of the panel and get more information about opioid and narcotic addiction and prevention. 

Drug Take Back Event: partner with the officials in charge of your local permanent Drug Take Back location to host a Drug Take Back Event at your venue or to select a day for another local Take Back Event, encouraging people to visit their local Drug Take Back location (NOTE: be sure to work with an official Drug Take Back partner for this event! DO NOT attempt to collect unused or unwanted medications on your own.)