Outside The EARL on a recent Sunday afternoon, people gathered at the mainstay in East Atlanta Village to drink beer and catch up with friends a sign of normalcy after a disruptive year brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
But inside, past all the rock music and still more glasses clinking at the bar, were two women seated in front of a banner that read “Don’t Run Call 911!”
They were greeting people and and ushering them into a silent back room for life-saving overdose prevention training.
With people returning in droves to nightlife scenes, bars have reported a wave of overdoses. Interventions such as this training are key to saving lives, say experts such as Dr. Sarah Febres-Cordero, who volunteers with Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition.
Bars host Narcan training after several people reportedly overdose on laced cocaine
ATLANTA (WGCL) Bars in East Atlanta are taking a proactive approach to prevent drug overdoses.
At least five people overdosed on cocaine laced with fentanyl at or near metro Atlanta bars this week, according to the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition.
“Usually you don’t find fentanyl, an opioid, a downer, in cocaine, a stimulant, an upper,” said Mona Bennett, an ambassador for the organization. “In these cases, I suspect the people were expecting just cocaine, but a lot of drug sellers cut there’s with a lot of other stuff.”