Project Opioid to give out free naloxone at EDC in Orlando

“No one should lose their life to an accidental overdose” is the message that Project Opioid, an advocacy organization, is bringing to Orlando this weekend as volunteers plan to pass out free naloxone nasal spray, an opioid overdose reversal drug, at the three-day Electric Daisy Carnival just west of downtown.

“While EDC maintains a strict zero-tolerance drug policy, we recognize that accidental overdoses can happen, and we’re here to equip people with the tools to save a life if the unthinkable occurs,” said Andrae Bailey, founder of Project Opioid, in a statement. Naloxone, the generic version of the brand-name drug Narcan, is an opioid antagonist that can reverse life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose when administered quickly and correctly.

It’s a drug that can literally be life-saving, with the ability to restore breathing in cases where a person’s breathing has slowed or stopped. Broader access to it is sorely needed in cases of overdose where someone has ingested an unregulated, illicit street drug like meth, cocaine, or fake pills, not realizing it contains a fatal dose of an opioid like fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a highly potent opioid, roughly 50 times more powerful than heroin, that can be lethal in small doses. Although it’s prescribed legally as a painkiller, unregulated versions can be even more powerful, and misuse can be deadly. Last year alone, synthetic opioids like fentanyl were involved in nearly 75,000 overdose deaths nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Younger people and partiers buying pills on the street, through a friend, or online have been a target population that overdose prevention efforts have been trying to reach, to raise awareness of its proliferation. In 2023, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, and local law enforcement officials in Florida, have raised awareness of the problem, too.

And EDC is expected to be one hell of a party this year — bigger than ever, as Orlando Weekly previously reported. Taking place at Camping World Stadium just west of downtown, the fest features an eye-popping 100-plus performers sprawled over four stages.

Project Opioid’s naloxone distribution program is made possible partly due to financial support from the Orange County government, as well as the support and partnership of the Florida Department of Children and Families. “No one should lose their life to an accidental overdose. By distributing naloxone directly to attendees, we’re aiming to provide an immediate, potentially life-saving resource in critical moments,” said Bailey.

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This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2024.