If Only Local Showing!

Parents and teens are encouraged to attend a local showing of “If Only,” a short film intended to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug misuse and abuse and to start a conversation that encourages the safe use, storage, and disposal of prescription drugs to keep them out of the hands of kids. The film will be shown on Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at 6 p.m. in the Southern Middle School Cafeteria.

Produced by The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and Millennium Health, If Only follows the story of two teenage boys who experiment with and become addicted to drugs.

“The DEA reports that there are an average of 129 drug overdose deaths in the US per day, and 61% of them are pharmaceutical or heroin related,” said Sadie Liller, Prevention Coordinator at the Garrett County Health Department. “We in Garrett County know the people behind these statistics – the babies, children, teens, young people and families whose lives have been impacted by these challenges, and we want to reduce the impact.”

An interactive discussion about drug use and addiction in Garrett County will follow the showing, and a panel of local residents will share their stories. Participants will be given tool kits to help them talk to their kids about prescription drug abuse, and will be eligible to win one of two lock boxes to be given away at the showing.

The local viewing is sponsored by the Drug Free Communities Coalition Action Team to Prevent Prescription & Opioid Misuse/Abuse, and partially funded through the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. For more information contact Sadie Liller at the Garrett County Health Department at 301-334-7730 or 301-895-3111.

For Immediate Release:  October 18, 2016

Contact Person: Diane Lee, PIO, 301-334-7689