The Regional Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention

our focus areas

RASAP considers all forms of substance misuse and their unique impacts in it’s mission to prevent and reduce harm to the community.

Opioids & Prescriptions

Summary

Over 50 million Americans 12 and older have admitted to misusing or mishandling prescription drugs at least once, and 76% of drug overdoses in 2023 can be directly attributed to opioids. According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, prescription drugs are the third-most abused substance with more users than cocaine.  According to the CDC, there were more than 81,000 opioid-related deaths and more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2023.

Active Campaigns/Events

Overdose Prevention Training

REVIVE training is the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Opioid Education and Overdose Response training in which you will learn about what opioids are, addiction, how an opioid overdose occurs, how to identify and respond to an overdose, including the administration of Naloxone/Narcan, and how Naloxone/Narcan works to reverse an opioid overdose

Take Back Day

Take Back Day is typically the fourth Saturday of April and October. The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has dates, times, and a location near you!

Got Unused Medications?

Here’s what to do with medications in between Drug Take Back Day. Visit a location near you to dispose of prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and patches. These locations cannot accept needles or liquids:

Medication Lockboxes, Disposal Kits, & Drop Boxes

View our in-depth walkthroughs below for everything you need to know about the proper storage and disposal of medication and free resources available to you.

To pick up a lockbox or disposal kit, stop by 245 Hairston Street, North Wing, Danville, VA 24540, email btrammell@dpcs.org, or call 434-799-0456 ext. 3810.

RxReality

The RX Reality campaign is an educational campaign raising awareness about prescription drug abuse in Danville City & Pittsylvania County. This campaign includes efforts from the RASAP Youth Advisory Council and RASAP members. It focuses on the negative consequences and the real side effects such as loss of family & friends, legal consequences, mood swings, homelessness, poor brain function, addiction, unpredictable future, death, and loss of jobs. This campaign is geared toward the entire community due to the wide demographic range this epidemic affects. RxReality is promoted through billboards, testimonial videos posted on social media and news outlets, and an opioid summit.

Watch Videos

One Pill Can Kill – DEA

DEA created the One Pill Can Kill campaign to encourage the use of social media to help raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge in counterfeit pills that are mass-produced in labs, deceptively marketed as legitimate, and are killing Americans at an unprecedented rate.

For more information contact btrammell@dpcs.org or call 434-799-0456 ext. 3810.

Alcohol

Summary

Nearly every organ system of our body is affected by alcohol. For individuals ages 18 and older, even a serving or two of alcohol per day can increase the risk of certain cancers, and drinking heavily over the years can cause irreversible damage to virtually every organ. Alcohol can also impact brain development. Fortunately, diseases caused by alcohol misuse can be prevented by reducing—or, even better—stopping drinking alcohol. [1]

Active Campaigns/Events

Arrive Alive

The Arrive Alive campaign is done with the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) in Pittsylvania County. It encourages teens to refrain from drinking alcohol and driving, during times of celebration, like prom and graduation parties. This is done through in-school education during high school lunch periods using brochures and “drunk goggles”, posters around the schools, billboards around the county, free t-shirts, and a Snapchat filter available on prom night.

  • Arrive Alive Kits
  • New Driver Car Kits

Otterbots – Arrive Home Safe Campaign

Regional Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention partnered with the Danville Otterbots to help all fans arrive HOME safely by drinking responsibly. RASAP sponsors the Alcohol-Free Fan Zone, where fans sit comfortably and do not have to be around other fans drinking during the game. As a part of the sponsorship, several announcements exist throughout and between the innings of the on-field game showing the risk of doing some crazy activities while impaired with the DUI goggles. Visiting the game….don’t be surprised if you see RASAP at many games passing out family-friendly items like parent guides, coloring books, and Arrive Alive Don’t Drink and Drive items.

Programs

“Talk. They Hear You.”®

This is SAMHSA’s national youth substance use prevention campaign that helps parents and caregivers, educators, and community members get informed, be prepared, and take action to prevent underage drinking and other substance use.

Marijuana

Summary

“We have seen that people at different stages of adulthood are trending toward use of drugs like cannabis and psychedelics and away from tobacco cigarettes,” said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). “These findings underscore the urgent need for rigorous research on the potential risks and benefits of cannabis and hallucinogens – especially as new products continue to emerge.” [2]

Active Campaigns

Marijuana, I Don’t Wanna

The Marijuana, I Don’t Wanna campaign involves the Youth Advisory Committee in Danville City. It encourages teens to refrain from using marijuana. This is done through in-school education on the different effects marijuana has on the developing brain and activities using the simulation goggles, posters and locker magnets around the schools, billboards around the city, free t-shirts to some students, and a wrap-up party at the Boys & Girls Club. The majority of students report that the campaign increases their opinion on how harmful marijuana is to their bodies and communities.

Tobacco & Vaping

Summary

Researchers estimate that these tobacco control efforts are associated with averting an estimated 8 million premature deaths and extending the average life expectancy of men by 2.3 years and of women by 1.6 years.18 But there is a long way yet to go: roughly 5.6 million adolescents under age 18 are expected to die prematurely as a result of an illness related to smoking.13[3]

Active Campaigns

Tobacco Free Kids

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund are the leading advocacy organizations working to reduce tobacco use and its deadly consequences in the United States and around the world.

24/7

The 24/7 campaign is an initiative to help all schools in Virginia understand, adopt, implement, and enforce comprehensive tobacco-free policies. Comprehensive policies support a school environment that is 100% free from tobacco products — including electronic cigarettes — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Additional Resources