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Go Slow (Baltimore fentanyl harm reduction campaign)

“Go slow. Fentanyl is here. Have a plan.”

Peer-designed Baltimore harm reduction campaign (US-MD) created in a 2018 Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs workshop with Bmore POWER peer outreach workers: 'Go slow. Never use alone. Carry naloxone.' Spread by peers on the street, buses, online and in community spaces, still active in 2026; also adopted by Prince George's County and Montgomery County health departments.

Years
2018–now
Country
United States
Topic
DrugsHarm reductionOpioids
Asks people to
RecognizeStartSubstitute
Strategy
Peer crowdSimple instructionTrusted messenger
Channel
EventsOutdoorPrintSocial (paid)TVWebsite
Audience
Adults
People who use drugs in Baltimore and their friends and families.

Evidence

ObservationalPositive

2020 survey (CCP): among respondents who recalled the Go Slow message, 48% had obtained naloxone in the previous year vs 15% of those who did not recall it; over 40% vs 21% had talked with a friend or loved one about overdose prevention. Cross-sectional recall comparison, not causal.

Sponsor (who paid)

Credits (who made it)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. JHU CCP: Go Slow: A Baltimore Campaign Meets the Fentanyl Era sponsor · 2026
  2. JHU CCP: Go Slow: Using Harm-Reduction Messages to Save Lives in Baltimore sponsor · 2018
  3. Montgomery County Council HHS/ECPS committee packet: opioid and fentanyl response (lists HHS 'Go Slow Campaign') reference · 2023
  4. Prince George's County: Go Slow sponsor
  5. Fentanyl is Here. Go Slow. Have a Plan. (campaign site) sponsor · 2026

Research notes

US-MD (Baltimore City; adopted in Prince George's and Montgomery counties). Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: CCP led the 2018 workshop and developed the messages 'in concert with Bmore POWER ... and Mission Media' (CCP 2018); 'What Bmore POWER brought back enabled CCP and Mission Media to refine the campaign' and Behavioral Health System Baltimore 'funded the original Go Slow campaign' (CCP 2026). CCP is a Johns Hopkins academic center; no agency file. Montgomery County's 2023 council packet describes an HHS 'Go Slow Campaign' on fentanyl with television ads, bus ads and print, funded by CDC Overdose Data to Action; whether it reused Baltimore creative is unconfirmed. Prince George's County Go Slow page cited from search result (fetch returned no text). No settlement funding found. Campaign site http://www.goslow.org/ ('Fentanyl is Here. Go Slow. Have a Plan.', fetched 2026-10-22) is live; it tells people who use alone to call Never Use Alone or download the Brave App (Brave Technology Coop, https://www.thebraveapp.com/; store listing not confirmed).

Record cases/baltimore-go-slow.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign