Memorial featuring 22,000 pills puts face on opioid overdose crisis
WASHINGTON - A powerful memorial designed to draw attention to the country's opioid epidemic, that features the faces of over 22,000 overdose victims carved into small pills, stopped in Washington D.C. on its ways around the U.S.
The Prescribed to Death Memorial was launched in Chicago last November by the National Safety Council, a nonprofit group that promotes health and safety across the country.
"We wanted to make sure we put a face on this crisis," said Maureen Vogel, a spokesperson with the National Safety Council. "We literally created 22,000 faces, each one carved in the likeness of someone who passed away from a prescription opioid overdose in 2015." Vogel said some of the faces are accompanied by names of victims whose stories can be heard.
In addition to the wall of pills, the display features resources for the safe disposal of unused prescription drugs. Vogel said envelopes will be given out to visitors which can be filled with unused prescription drugs, put in the mail, and delivered to an incinerator for safe disposal. The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 28 also provides safe places for prescription drug disposal.
The display will be in D.C. until April 18. The National Safety Council plans on making a stop in Ohio.