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Opioids are everywhere, and they鈥檙e affecting everyone: young, old; female, male; white, black; blue collar, white collar. Prescription painkillers don鈥檛 seem to have a type, and everyone I talk to seems to have a story about how the epidemic has hit close to home for them.

Yet, it鈥檚 becoming increasingly clear that the construction industry is being affected more than other groups. According to a 2015 CNA Financial report, spending on prescription painkillers is 5 percent to 10 percent higher in construction than in all other industries combined. That鈥檚 a striking statistic considering more than 70 percent of employers in the U.S. believe the misuse of prescription drugs is having a direct impact on their workplace.

Join the Daily Journal of Commerce on Thursday, Aug. 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for a special panel discussion: 鈥淭he Opioid Epidemic & the Building Industry.鈥� The breakfast event will provide a discussion of the depth of the opioid epidemic, how it鈥檚 affecting your bottom line, how to dissuade abuse, and what to do when an employee has a problem.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Lines for Life CEO Dwight Holton, and panelists will include: Cal Beyer, risk management director at Lakeside Industries; Dr. Rachel Solotaroff, interim CEO and president at Central City Concern; and P.K. Runkles-Pearson, attorney at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP.

The event will take place at the Sentinel Hotel鈥檚 Billiards Room, at 614 S.W. 11th Ave., in Portland. Admission is $15, and includes breakfast, coffee and tea.

If you鈥檙e interested in sponsoring the event or participating in it, please contact Bill Beyer at 503-802-7232, or by email at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Nick Bjork

Publisher