Overdose Prevention Collective

We’ve got some big news… OPC has been awarded a $50,000 grant! 🎉

Our small but mighty team is incredibly excited to receive this funding from the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NW HIDTA) to expand our overdose prevention work across King County.

Over the next year, we’ll be launching a new initiative focused on accidental fentanyl exposure among people intending to use co***ne. This funding will allow us to expand community education, distribute thousands of free co***ne testing kits, bring overdose prevention resources into nightlife and other high-risk settings, and help more people understand how to reduce their risk.

This is a huge milestone for our little organization and an investment in the kind of practical, data-driven overdose prevention work we believe in: meeting people where they are, giving them tools that can actually save lives, and responding to what we’re seeing right here in our community.

We couldn’t do this work without our amazing, dedicated volunteers, the organizations and groups who continue to partner with us, and now, the support of NW HIDTA. We’re incredibly grateful for everyone who believes in this work and helps make it possible.

We’re so excited for what’s ahead. 💜

This week’s Fact Check Friday is a big one.

A recent article from a Seattle-based online news source claimed that fentanyl is everywhere in our drug supply, and is widely contaminating the drugs here. While that myth is widespread, the truth is a very different story.

Misinformation can lead people to misunderstand their own risk, make less informed decisions, and overlook the realities of today’s drug landscape. Effective overdose prevention depends on accurate information, not fear-based headlines.

Have a claim you’ve seen online that you’d like us to fact-check? Drop it in the comments for a future Fact Check Friday.

OPC is a fully volunteer-run and donor-supported 501c3 nonprofit organization! We provide lifesaving education, training, and resource distribution for free. If you’d like to volunteer or have us at your next event or staff training, send us an email or DM. Link to our website, donation page, and contact info in our bio.

At Overdose Prevention Collective, we spend a lot of time reading comments, news stories, and social media posts about overdose. Many are well-intentioned, but some contain misinformation that can cause people to hesitate during an emergency or avoid taking actions that could save a life.

That’s why we’re launching Fact Check Friday, a series where we break down common overdose myths and share what the evidence actually says.

This week’s myth appeared in the comments of a viral overdose rescue video. Several commenters warned that performing mouth-to-mouth on someone who overdosed could cause the rescuer to overdose as well.

That is not true. There are no documented cases of someone overdosing from providing rescue breaths, CPR, or routine contact with a person experiencing an overdose. Fentanyl is not absorbed through skin in amounts that would cause an overdose, and incidental exposure during an emergency is not considered a risk to responders.

An opioid overdose is primarily a respiratory emergency. The person’s breathing slows, becomes shallow, or stops altogether. Without oxygen, the brain and body begin to shut down.

Rescue breathing can be lifesaving because it helps deliver oxygen while naloxone takes effect.

While chest compressions are only appropriate if a person is pulseless. Many overdose victims still have a pulse, but are not breathing adequately. In these situations, providing oxygen through rescue breaths can make a critical difference.

The bottom line:

💜 You cannot overdose from giving rescue breaths to someone experiencing an opioid overdose.

Misinformation can cost lives. Accurate information can save them.

What overdose myths have you heard online that you’d like us to fact-check next?

Over the weekend, OPC volunteers distributed 350+ doses of Narcan and 200+ fentanyl test strips across two events 💜 These are real tools that save lives. Grateful to the venues and everyone who stopped by our tables. This work is only possible because of you!

Fentanyl comes in powder, rock, and pill form and can look identical to many other substances. If you’re not a fentanyl user, you have to test your drugs to make sure they’re not fentanyl.

Know the signs, carry Narcan, save a life.

This Friday at 💜 Come dance and grab some free Narcan. All at-the-door ticket sales will be donated to our nonprofit to support lifesaving work in our community.

Thank you to .presents and for having us out this weekend for two incredible events! Our amazing volunteers gave out 100 fentanyl test strips and 60 doses of Narcan, and had countless great conversations about safer drug use and overdose prevention.