America has an opioid problem. Deaths have reportedly risen nationwide over the past decade due to opioid addiction and excessive prescriptions, but another problem has emerged in recent years — fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is less potent than heroin, 50 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than narcotic pain. For those working on the front lines of the epidemic, drug safety (rather than advocating abstinence) — such as carrying naloxone to prevent overdoses or testing drugs before using them — is the best solution to the current problem.
Brian Bordanick (founder of acne-de-stigma brand Starface and emergency contraception company Julie) agrees, and has joined the movement to dismantle drug safety with Overdrive, which launches today on Amazon.
“Harm reduction and drug safety products have become more available through measures such as making naloxone over-the-counter and drug test strips legal in nearly every state, however, despite these advances, adoption rates remain low, as these products often don’t resonate with the people who need them most,” Bordenick said. “I want to use what we’ve learned in other businesses to address stigmatizing issues like acne, sexual health or smoking cessation, and learn outside of the typical consumer product marketing model, looking to entertainment and media to discover new ways to get people’s attention.
OverDrive’s first product is a reliable fentanyl testing kit (comes with five strips, a water pack, and a mini spoon) that detects the presence of the drug, giving people who are already going to use it the foresight they need to know if it’s safe.
Ryan Weaver, the brand’s executive producer and creative head, said, “Our brand intentionally feels more like an energy drink brand than a sterile medical brand.” This strategy has been very successful with Julie, and the Plan B brand’s first commercial was written by cool-girl comedian Esther Povitsky.
All the details surrounding Overdrive’s release were carefully considered by Bordenik and Weaver. Take, for example, the publication on Amazon, which is a simple and anonymous way for buyers to receive a brand seamlessly (and quickly). The brand also partners with the nonprofit End Overdoses, donating 1% of the proceeds through cash and product.
“To really solve this problem fully, you need to take a variety of approaches,” Bodenick said. “This doesn’t mean that what other people in the harm reduction community are doing is ‘wrong,’ but it does open the door to the fact that all kinds of people are affected by this crisis and we need different organizations to tackle this problem from different angles.
