(Walhalla, SC)-------------------------------------If you are planning on visiting the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, or stopping by a Sheriff’s Office Community Event or a Pill Take Back Day at some point this year, you may notice some new educational displays and materials.
The displays and materials highlight the dangers of opioid addiction and how opioids affect the body and mind of someone who is addicted.
Recently, the Sheriff’s Office purchased four educational displays, and other educational materials, that will be on display at the Sheriff’s Office but will also be displayed at various Community Events that the Sheriff’s Office organizes or attends, which include the annual Pill Take Back Days in the spring and in the fall.
The total price for the purchase of the educational displays and other materials was approximately $2,200. No taxpayer funds were used in the purchase of the materials as the money used for the purchase came from money that Oconee County received from the state of South Carolina in regards to recent opioid litigation settlements.
The educational displays and materials contain information on such items as, for example, Naloxone (Narcan), the types of opioids and signs or abuse, the economic cost and personal effects of opioid addiction, the effects of heroin and fentanyl on the human body, plus, information on the various types of opioids that available and other vital statistics.
“The cost of opioid addiction to Oconee County goes beyond just the financial burden that it places on our citizens,” says Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “There is a human toll on those who are addicted and their families and friends that is personal and emotional. If one person can be spared from this pain, then the purchase of these educational materials and information is well worth the time and effort.”
Besides the educational displays and materials, the Sheriff’s Office continues to fight drug addiction in many ways. For example, the Oconee County Detention Center continues to distribute free Narcan to at-risk inmates through a grant and partnership with Prisma Health.
Plus, School Resource Officers continue to build relationships with students in schools and some have been, and will be trained, to teach various educational programs in the schools, such as the D.A.R.E. program.
Also, the Sheriff’s Office continues its battle, through drug sweeps and other enforcement activities, to hold those who traffic and distribute narcotics accountable for their crimes, working at time with other law enforcement partners. Sheriff Crenshaw also continues to express his support for the passage in the South Carolina Legislature of a Drug Induced Homicide Bill regarding Fentanyl, which he hopes will lead to the passage of other Drug Induced Homicide Bill’s regarding other narcotics.
Just last year, for the first time, the Sheriff’s Office filed Involuntary Manslaughter charges in regards to the sale of narcotics that led to the death of an Oconee County citizen.
In the future, the Sheriff’s Office will initiate an educational campaign using print media and billboards, costing approximately $36,000, to further spread the message about the dangers of opioid addiction. As with the recent educational materials that were purchased, the money for the campaign will not come from taxpayer dollars but money allocated to Oconee County from the opioid litigation settlements.
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