Protecting Our Kids from Addiction

Join Bles’d Productions in Oz with a magical reenactment of Frank Baum’s timeless children’s story. T he director brings gospel-soul to the classic tale and the performers bring a new life to Baum’s characters, repurposing the imaginative world to address a serious adversity affecting many students and adults throughout Hillsborough County. Dorothy and the gang travel through the famous Poppy fields attempting to consult the Grand Wizard, who’s deceived the entire nation of Oz by these poppy plants. T he cast describes their reason for choosing this story as a focused attempt to educate students and communities on the importance of self discovery. “By unlocking a student’s talent you teach them self-motivation; you give them a reason to want to focus,” says director Dr. Tucker-Wicks. T he play is certainly fitting for our communities that have been blighted with a prescription opioid addiction, rivaling the crack cocaine epidemic in the eighties. With the use of fantasy and children’s stories, communities can open dialogue about mature conversations with a wider variety of ages, if the play and its literature is wellnurtured. T his performance will be hosted by Hillsborough County’s division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in congruence with the DEA’s 360 Strategy. The 360 Strategy responds to the heroin and prescription opioid pill crisis and takes an innovative three-pronged approach to combating heroin/opioid usage through Law Enforcement, Diversion, and Community Outreach. Join us as we encourage the students to Level Up! on October 30th, 2019 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, near Jefferson High School and the Tampa Airport Westshore.