Learn About Overdose Prevention at Lollapalooza

As Cook County reaches record levels of opioid overdoses, a husband and wife are setting up booths at music fests across the country to provide concertgoers with nasal naloxone with their nonprofit, This Must Be the Place.

Ahead of Lollapalooza, co-founder and chemical dependency counselor William Perry, who is also in recovery, shared tips about administering the overdose reversal drug and where their booth will be in Grant Park this weekend.

What do you teach people at fests?

We give out Kloxxado, which has twice the potency of a Narcan dose. As far as administration goes, peel open the package and put it up one nostril. Turn the person on their side in case they potentially vomit. Stand back, and wait 30 seconds to three minutes to see if they wake up. Call for paramedics because this will only keep them safe for 60–90 minutes.

Last year, we did eight fests and handed out under 11,000 kits. This year, we're doing 28 fests and handing out north of 30,000 kits.

Aside from medication, what are other tips for staying safe?

There should always be the caretaker friend.
Beware of using in the hot sun.
Never use alone.
[A substance] can have a non-deadly level of fentanyl, but drinking on top can have a synergistic effect that changes that.
Never ever tell somebody that they should sleep it off, especially if they are showing signs of drowsiness and unresponsiveness.

How could an organization like this have helped you?

Nearly all of the friends I grew up [using] with are gone due to an overdose. I wish there was somebody that had a non-judgmental talk [with us] about what we were getting into. I can't go back and change that. Hopefully, we can keep that from happening in someone else's life.