Oak Ridge Schools and Neil Morgenstern (Prevention & Education Specialist for Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area – AHIDTA) will host a viewing of the FBI’s documentary Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict. The community screening is Wednesday, November 29 at Robertsville Middle School located at 245 Robertsville Road, Oak Ridge. Doors will open for the community resource fair at 5:15pm with the presentation starting promptly at 6:00pm. The panel discussion and Q & A session will begin immediately following Mr. Morgenstern’s presentation.
Chasing the Dragon: “The life of an Opiate addict,” is a 45-minute documentary film profiling the cycle of addiction and the tragic consequences associated with opioid abuse. The documentary also features interviews with medical and law enforcement professionals discussing how this epidemic is unlike any our country has ever seen. The goal is to reach youth before any addiction can set in. Please be aware that this film does contain strong language and graphic substance abuse content. Therefore, students in grades 7-12 who attend should come with an adult. Parents/Guardians who wish to bring their teenage children to this event should consider reviewing the film prior to the screening. We also encourage families to stay for the facilitated discussion. Watch the film and other related video clips at www.fbi.gov/chasingthedragon.
The community panel will consist of Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi, members of the Oak Ridge Fire Department, Executive Director of Allies for Substance Abuse of Anderson County Stephanie Strutner, former DEA Neil Morgenstern and a representative of Ridgeview Behavioral Health.
This program is the second community screening of this film in Oak Ridge Schools. In 2016, Anderson County had 24 opioid overdose deaths and 109,911 prescriptions written for pain, per the Tennessee Drug Overdose Dashboard https://tn.gov/health/topic/pdo-data-dashboard).
If you have any questions, please contact Jenifer Laurendine in the Oak Ridge School Office of Coordinated School Health at 865-425-9028.
Press release submitted by Jenifer Laurendine
