TACO
(noun)
Team Awareness Combating Overdose
The Team’s mission is to combat drug overdoses among young adults by building a peer-to-peer culture of well-informed decisions with comprehensive access to neutral, scientific data and subsidized tools to keep each other safe.
Backed by Science.
TACO is foremost an educational organization grounded in science. We share research, not rumors. Everything TACO produces has a scientifically defensible source straight from neuroscientists, psychologists, and sociologists.
Up to You.
We believe that traditional drug “education” has failed young adults through bias and denial, and that supporting informed decision making is the best path to harm reduction. TACO exists to educate people, not tell them how to live.
Reducing Harm.
TACO provides subsidized and rapid access to Fentanyl Test Strips. These tests show if a drug has been contaminated with fentanyl, a highly lethal drug. Using these tests saves lives and decreases strain on Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
Objective.
We do not believe that drug use or addiction are moral issues. Most people in our society have used drugs - anything from alcohol to marijuana to psychedelics. Because of this reality, to characterize illicit drug users as “bad people” would be hypocritical.
Reducing the Stigma.
TACO encourages young adults to #TACOboutit when it comes to drug use. The more we can have honest conversations about the facts of drug use, the more people can feel comfortable reaching out for help if they need it.
501(c)3 Verified.
All donations are tax deductible under IRC Section 170. Team Awareness Combating Overdose (TACO) Inc. is registered with the US Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service as a Tax-Exempt organization.
FAQ
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Fentanyl is a highly potent opioid that will kill the average person with the ingestion of only 2mg. That’s about 2 grains of worth of this white powder that easily blends into other drugs like Cocaine, MDMA, and fake prescription pills.
150 people in the United States die each day from a Fentanyl-related overdose. With Fentanyl test strips, users can avoid accidentally consuming Fentanyl and prevent overdose fatalities.
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100% of donations to TACO support our Fentanyl test strip distribution program.
Fentanyl test strips allow users to check their drugs for Fentanyl contamination. Only 2mg of Fentanyl will kill the average person (that’s about 2 grains of sand), so checking other drugs for contamination saves lives. We use donation dollars to purchase thousands of these test strips to remove cost and time barriers to access.
Since beginning this program in March of 2021, we have saved hundreds of lives with Fentanyl test strips (as evidenced by user reports of tests showing positive for Fentanyl contamination.)
TACO’s team believes so strongly in this work that we are 100% volunteer operated.
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Studies have shown that the brain in its late teenage and early 20s years critically values the need to forge independence in decision making.
For the binary statement “don’t do drugs,” the other side of that binary is, “do drugs.” If we tell young adults what their decision about drugs should be by saying, “don’t do drugs,” then the only independent choice we leave them with is, “do drugs.” When every college student will be offered a drug of some form at some point - a drug that they may not be aware of its complete effects - this becomes very dangerous.
Instead, we trust that young adults are capable of making safe and healthy decisions when they are provided the facts with which to do so. By providing our audience with journal-published data on individual drugs, the effects of combining various drugs, and other topics related to drug use, we support them in making safe and healthy decisions for themself as an individual.
Love for TACO
Kind words from @tacoinc_ followers
