KNOW DOPE Website Goes Live with Award-winning PSAs and Documentary

BIRMINGHAM – A new website presenting award-winning public service announcements and a short documentary produced by UAB Digital Media and focused on awareness and prevention of opiate addiction in the face of steeply rising heroin overdose deaths is live and publicly available, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

As part of the community Pills to Needles Initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office last year contracted with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Digital Media Department to create content for the website. Students who worked on the yearlong Know Dope project with UAB Digital Media Director Rosie O’Beirne last week won Best of Show in the student competition for the American Advertising Federation Birmingham Awards, or ADDYs.

The students created the Know Dope campaign name and logo, along with six public service announcements and the 10-minute documentary designed to be shown in area schools as part of drug awareness programs. The documentary and PSAs, along with information and links to help educate and provide resources on drug abuse and addiction can be found at www.knowdope.org.

“My office's partnership with the talented group at UAB Digital Media has led to the production of short video clips suitable for sharing on social media that can help fight against the deadly rise of prescription drug and heroin addiction,” Vance said. “It is critical for our community to understand the path from pill to heroin addiction, and that we focus on prevention and treatment opportunities. I hope everyone will spend a few minutes on our website. Minutes you spend may help save the life of someone you love.”

“One of the main aims of the Know Dope campaign was to appeal to a younger audience, while recognizing that heroin might be replaced by other drugs in the future,” O’Beirne said. “Digital assets were tested with middle and high school audiences, who are the main target audiences, and have provided a very positive response. Rollout of the campaign is planned throughout this spring.”

“Pills to Needles” is a collaborative initiative begun in 2014 to respond to the sharp spike in heroin deaths in northern Alabama. The initiative, originated thorough the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama in conjunction with key partners including the UAB School of Public Health, the Jefferson County Department of Health and the Addiction Prevention Coalition, to date has focused on building and planning. Its overarching goals are to create a comprehensive and responsive community infrastructure to address this serious public health issue; develop strategies to reduce the ill-effects of heroin and prescription drug abuse; and give voice to those affected by heroin and prescription drug abuse.