Less than a month ago, Ravens linebacker Zachary Orr retired due to a congenital neck injury. Both the Ravens and Orr were heartbroken over the news, as the young man fought tooth & nail for Charm City. Orr wasn’t sure where his career was going when he and the team held a press conference. Now, he’s parterning to continue fighting for Charm City, no longer for the football team.

From the DHMH website:

Behavioral Health teamed up with former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Zach Orr to address the stigma that surrounds substance use disorders – calling out the shame and stigma associated with this disease and promoting the value of treating it like any other disease.

Lt. Governer Boyd Rutherford expressed his joy over Orr’s joined effort.

“Addressing the stigma surrounding heroin and opioid addiction head-on is paramount to ending this epidemic once and for all. I'd like to thank Zach Orr for joining with us to raise awareness of this crisis and help save the lives of Marylanders across the state.”

These public service announcements are in circulation during Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s recent announcement of his ‘2017 Heroin and Opioid Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement Inititative.

The initiative helps to increase treatment funding, limits opioid prescriptions for pain management and provides screening and linkages to treatment via emergency departments.

One PSA Orr is featured, demonstrates the positives from naloxone, a lifesaving drug capable of reversing an overdose and saving a life. To those worried of involvement with an overdose, another PSA quells the worries with Maryland’s ‘A Good Samaritan Law’, protecting Marylanders from arrest or persecution if they assist someone overdosing and call 911.

Zachary Orr isn’t the first former Raven to fight Opioid addiction, as Eugene Monroe retired to pursue his mission to get the NFL to accept cannabinoids as a viable option for pain management. Eugene expressed his excitement on Twitter when hearing of Orr’s partnership with the DHMH.