by Aubry Tucker
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —
The Opioid Crisis Memorial commemorating victims lost to prescription drugs is coming to the University of Arkansas Campus Wednesday, Oct. 3. The display—“Prescribed to Death”—will remain through Tuesday, Oct. 9 in room 201 of the Arkansas Union.
The display aims to humanize as well as bring gravity and awareness to the Opioid Crisis present in America. 22,000 pills engraved with the faces of victims lost to the crisis will make the majority of the exhibit. The number represents the lives lost in the United States due to prescription drugs every year. Arkansas stands as the second highest rate of opioid prescriptions written in the country. In 2016, Arkansas lost 169 people to opioid overdose. According to the National Security Council, “In 2015, the amount of opioids prescribed in the U.S was enough for every American to be medicated around the clock for three weeks.”
The exhibit will only be displayed on campus before leaving the state. The Associated Student Government partnered with NSC to bring the exhibit to Northwest Arkansas with a goal to educate campus and locals on the danger of opioids.
Anyone who has lost loved ones to opioid overdose is invited to honor them at the exhibit by adding their name to a digital memorial. Personal items or flowers are accepted for display but will not be returned. The mission of the National Security Council is to eliminate preventable deaths at home, at work and on the road.