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Preventing opiate deaths is Max's Mission Julia Pinsky holds Naloxone sprays that can be carried in a purse or car and used to give life-saving treatment to someone suffering from an opioid overdose. [Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta] Monday Feb 20, 2017 at 5:28 PM Feb 20, 2017 at 5:29 PM Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune @VickieAldous Max Pinsky was a chef, loved to write poetry and was known for being kind, thoughtful and a deep thinker about society. A struggle with opioid prescription painkillers eventually led him to heroin. In January 2013, he overdosed on heroin and died at age 25 — one of four young Ashland men to die of an overdose that winter. "What was shocking to us was the grip it had on him so quickly," Julia Pinsky said of the opioids that claimed her son. Opioids, including heroin and prescription painkillers like OxyContin, can slow or stop breathing and the beating of the heart. Victims can lose consciousness, vomit and choke. After her son's death, Julia Pinsky launched a nonprofit organization called Max's Mission, which works to spread awareness about opioids and distribute naloxene — an antidote that can reverse the life-threatening effects of an overdose. Naloxone will be available for free while supplies last during a community meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Bellview Grange, 1050 Tolman Creek Road. People who come to the forum can get training on how to recognize an overdose and administer the antidote, which is sold in nasal spray and injection form. Naloxone prescriptions will also be available and can be filled at local pharmacies. "You may save someone's life who is a stranger. You also could save the life of someone near and dear to your heart," Julia Pinsky said. She said everyone is welcome to attend the meeting, including community members interested in the issue, those who use street heroin or prescription opiate painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet, and anyone concerned about family members, friends and neighbors. Julia Pinsky said there should be no stigma in having the overdose antidote on hand. "Think of it like EpiPen," she said, referring to the injection used to counter potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to bee stings, food and other triggers. "There's no stigma attached to it. Your neighbor may need it." She said heroin and prescription opioid use is widespread, but hidden. People can get heroin or painkillers on the street, or pilfer prescription pills from friends and relatives. Young people often share pills with each other, or sell them. Julia Pinsky said addictive opioid painkillers are everywhere, with people first getting their hands on the drugs after they or someone they know undergoes a dental procedure, gets in a car wreck or experiences another event that causes short-term pain. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that patients undergoing dental surgery were prescribed an average of 28 pills, and three weeks after their procedures had an average of 15 pills left over. A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health survey of U.S. adults who had recently filled an opioid prescription found that 57 percent wound up with leftover medication, which they planned to keep for themselves for the future or illegally share with others. A bill pending in the Oregon Legislature would reduce the number of pills for some prescriptions. Due to addiction and overdose deaths, doctors in Jackson County, Oregon and the nation are being more cautious about how they prescribe opioids. But as an unintended consequence, some patients instead turn to heroin, which is more readily available through illegal street sales. As communities grapple with the impacts of opioids, there is growing access to the overdose antidote naloxone, which is now carried by police and EMTs in the Rogue Valley. Julia Pinsky said communities that support naloxone access are seeing a drop in overdose deaths, which, she noted, occur among all socioeconomic groups. She urged people not to be complacent if they or someone they know is using opioids. "You can't think, 'This will pass and we'll be fine,' " she cautioned. "When taking drugs — even prescription drugs — there is a risk of overdose." For more information about Max's Mission and the nonprofit's efforts to distribute naloxone, visit www.gofundme.com/maxs-mission. — Reach staff reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous.