“The “Be in the Know” campaign—developed by the Pima County Health Department, law enforcement partners, the Arizona Overdose Response Strategy (ORS) team and university partners—was recently featured in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s Views from the Field series for its innovative approach to overdose prevention and student engagement.

Launched at the University of Arizona in fall 2024, the campaign equips students with the knowledge and tools to prevent overdoses, including training on naloxone and awareness of the Good Samaritan law. In the campaign’s first semester, 75 student ambassadors were provided training to share information about the campaign as they led orientation tours for incoming students. Campaign information was shared with more than 11,000 students, 450 students received naloxone training, 160 naloxone kits were distributed to students to take home and 810 posters and QR code cards were shared across campus. Naloxone was also co-located at all 308 Automated External Defibrillator (AED) sites, making lifesaving resources more accessible throughout the university.

The Arizona ORS team played a key role from the initial implementation of the campaign, meeting with partners early in the process to shape the campaign’s direction and rollout. The Arizona Public Health Analyst (PHA) worked closely with the Pima County Health Department and the Counter Narcotics Alliance to sustain and expand the initiative by providing training to student orientation leaders, building relationships with student prevention organizations, assisting in campaign material design and participating in numerous tabling and training events. As the campaign entered its second year, the AZ ORS team and partners completed additional orientation activities in July and August 2025, training another 75 student ambassadors and distributing campaign materials to 9,000 incoming freshmen and transfer students. Nearly 440 students received prevention education and resources, 200 students participated in naloxone trainings and 36 naloxone kits were distributed to students to take home.

Building on this momentum, the Arizona ORS team partnered with law enforcement partners in Pima County to bring “Be in the Know” to additional campuses—further expanding the reach of this collaborative effort to promote awareness, preparedness and community safety.