MIDDLEBORO — Dr. Heather DiBlasi of DrHeathertalks.com and Laura O’Connor of the Middleboro Elks provided valuable information regarding drug awareness and abuse prevention to the Middleboro High School and community members.

DiBlasi gave interactive presentations from Oct. 17 to Oct. 19 regarding vaping, marijuana, opioids, Fentanyl, and a new drug that is being used, which is called Xylazine or the street name “Tranq”, which is causing many overdose deaths and is resistant to Narcan according to DiBlasi. 

“I am not here to tell you not to do drugs, I am here to provide you with information so that when you are away from your parents and away from your teacher is in away from me that you make safe and informed choices,” said DiBlasi. 

DiBlasi talked about various types of drugs, their potential harm, including addiction, health issues, and what to do if you or someone else becomes addicted and needs help.

O’Connor spoke about local Middleboro Matters and available Massachusetts resources.

On Oct. 18, DiBlasi was the featured speaker at the First Family Strong Event for families and community members, which was held at the Black Box Theater at Middleboro High.DiBlasi. Elroy the Elk who is the national mascot for the Elks also attended this event and took pictures with people who were interested. Several local resources including Plymouth Area Outreach were also present with available resource materials.

DiBlasi and O’Connor also filmed a presentation through MCCAM as a resource for students who did not get to attend a presentation or community
members who are interested. The presentation be available On Demand through MCCAM.

The Middleboro Elks Lodge sponsored the events. The Middleboro Elks would like to thank Kevin Avitable for coordinating classes for DiBlasi’s presentations and the staff at MCCAM for coordinating and editing the filmed presentation.