The new semipostal will fund research to fight drug abuse and overdoses
The Postal Service dedicated its Know the Facts About Fentanyl stamp on Oct. 6 at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, MD.
“Fentanyl contributes to some 80,000 overdose deaths each year, with devasting impacts to families and communities across the nation,” said Peter Pastre, the Postal Service’s government relations and public policy vice president, who led the ceremony.
Joining Pastre were emcee Tamika Smith, journalist and host of NPR’s “All Things Considered”; Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health; Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and Ed Ternan, founder of Song for Charlie, a nonprofit that promotes awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.
“This stamp will travel through homes, workplaces and communities across the country, carrying a reminder that community matters, treatment works, and recovery is possible. Nobody has to confront addiction by themselves,” Volkow said.
Net proceeds from the stamp will go to the National Institute on Drug Abuse — the world’s largest provider of research into substance abuse, addiction treatment and recovery support.
Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with an original illustration by Whitney Sherman, who also created the art for the Breast Cancer Research semipostal.
The artwork is intended to convey a message of hope, healing and recovery. It shows an individual surrounded by a group of people expressing their love and support.
The stamp is available in sheets of 20 at Post Offices and on usps.com.
Four other semipostal stamps — Breast Cancer Research, Alzheimer’s, Healing PTSD and Save Vanishing Species — are also available at Post Offices and usps.com.
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