The opioid epidemic continues to damage families and cities throughout the United States, but Canton, Michigan is the latest city to attempt to eliminate the outbreak.

On April 10th, Families Against Narcotics (FAN) launched its brand new chapter at the LifeChurch annex building on Haggerty Road. This chapter will be the newest of over a dozen chapters across Michigan. The first FAN chapter was created in Fraser in 2007 after an abundance of overdoses in the Macomb county area.

FAN’s mission is to remove the stigma associated with addictions through education and to inform the community of the growing problem of prescription painkiller abuse among all ages, as well as the increase in heroin use by young people. Statistics prove that FAN has quite the cause.

On an average day, 78 people die from an opioid-related overdose in the United States. Additionally, over 2,000 teens abuse a prescription drug for the first time each day, which commonly leads to addiction to painkillers and also is the first step toward developing a heroin addiction.

According to FAN’s website, the organization has presented its program, “Real People Sharing Real Stories” to thousands of students in Michigan as well as spoken at over fifty conferences. The organization also is in conjunction with 41B District Drug Court in Macomb County, helping individuals rehabilitate instead of being punished.

The more programs we have in our communities, the more likely we are to eliminate this nasty epidemic. We encourage anybody who has concerns over the opioid epidemic to attend local meetings such as FAN to learn more about what we can do to solve this disaster.

If you are facing criminal charges, Mark Mandell is an experienced Metro Detroit defense attorney and a former prosecutor. Call Fausone Bohn, LLP today at  248-380-0000, and find out how Mark and our other defense attorneys can help you.