Prevent Drug Abuse: Dispose of Old Rx Drugs for FREE on April 26
Prescription drug abuse is a serious concern for parents and educators alike. According to NEA HIN’s Rx for Understanding, 1 in 4 teens reports having misused or abused prescription drugs. Over 40% of teens indicate it’s easier to get their hands on prescription drugs than illegal drugs, making them an easy target for abuse.
Some people might be inclined to keep old prescription drugs around to save money or so as to not waste medication. But not only is the efficacy of prescription drugs is reduced once they pass their expiration date, when medication is old, it’s easy for prescription drug abuse to go unnoticed. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor – examine your medicine cabinet for old prescriptions. Then dispose of them safely for FREE at a local collection site near you on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Check out the U.S. Department of Justice’s webpage on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day for more information about the day of action or for help locating a collection site near you.
The Right Prescription for Prevention
Recent media attention has focused on yet another celebrity death caused by heroin overdose. The tragedy of high profile, celebrity deaths provides the educational community with an opportunity to educate the public through media and community education. What many people don’t realize is that prescription opioids are killing Americans at more than five times the rate of heroin.
The public should understand that prescription opioids are extremely helpful in managing pain, but they can also be lethal when used improperly.
A number of prescription drugs have demonstrated an increasing potential for misuse and abuse, particularly among the nation’s youth. With the exception of marijuana, prescription drugs are the drug of choice among 12-13 year olds. There is a misperception that these drugs are less harmful because they are prescribed by a doctor. But young people are often the victims of chemical combinations they do not understand, and often combine pills with alcohol and other drugs. It is critical that adults and children become more educated on the dangers of prescription drug abuse and misuse. Prescription drug education must include facts about appropriate dose levels and the effect of various combinations.
Schools can take a more active role in combatting this growing and dangerous trend. Trusted adult influences like teachers, school nurses, school mental health personnel, and parents are key to helping reverse the trend of prescription drug abuse. To help schools and communities take on this challenge, the National Education Association’s Health Information Network (HIN) offers two resources to help educate young people about the misuse, abuse, and proper use of prescription drugs: Rx for Understanding: Be Smart About Prescription Drugs and Rx for Understanding: Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse.
Read more about the issue of drug misuse and abuse among youth and the data supporting the need for education about the topic here. NEA HIN encourages you to take advantage of its free resources, available at http://www.neahin.org/rxforunderstanding/. A few hard copies are still available and can be ordered at no charge at neahin.org/store.
The Right Prescription for Prevention
The problem of prescription drug misuse and abuse by adults has been growing for years, but its recent increase within the adolescent population is alarming. According to a 2010 survey, one in four adolescents has abused a prescription medication at some point in their lives, which is up from one in five teens in 2009.
In growing numbers, more adolescents are abusing prescription drugs than they are illegal drugs. With the exception of marijuana, prescription drugs are the drug of choice among 12-13 year olds. The prescription drugs that teens most commonly abuse or misuse are painkillers, stimulants (like medications taken for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD) and depressants (like anti-anxiety medications). These medications are often easily accessible, sometimes from a parent’s medicine cabinet. In fact, 64% of teens (age 12-17) who abuse prescription pain relievers say they got them from friends or relatives.
Schools can play an important role in combatting this growing and dangerous trend. All educators, particularly those who most frequently work with at-risk populations, should be aware of the changing patterns of prescription drug misuse and abuse within the school-age population. Professional development around this topic should be made available within schools and school districts so that educators can be aware and knowledgeable about the problem, and better equipped to identify and/or prevent it in their students. Specialized instructional support personnel (SISP), such as school nurses, school social workers, and school psychologists are among those more likely to detect or observe substance abuse or misuse, but all educators and caregivers should take a more active role in addressing the problem.
A common assumption driving prevention efforts is that if youth can be helped to understand that experimentation with alcohol or other drugs is dangerous, they will abstain. Of course, that isn’t usually the case. Schools can help raise the awareness of students about the dangers of misusing and abusing various substances, but these efforts should be science and fact-based, so that students will take them seriously. Prescription drug education that is based on solid science will help prepare young people for lifelong decisions about the use of medications. This might include information about appropriate dose levels, the potential for drug toxicity when overused, the effect of different drug combinations, and many other important pieces of information that will help students make proper future choices about taking medications.
Thanks to the support of an educational grant from Purdue Pharma L.P., the National Education Association’s Health Information Network (HIN) offers two resources to help educate young people about the misuse, abuse, and proper use of prescription drugs.
- Rx for Understanding: Be Smart About Prescription Drugs is a standards-based, cross-curricular teaching resource tailored for grade ranges 5-8, with 5 units and sequenced lessons.
- Rx for Understanding: Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse is focused on students in grades 9-12. This resource contains 10 lessons that lead students through an inquiry-based, technology inspired project which provides an opportunity to apply key concepts learned about misuse, abuse and proper use of prescription drugs.
These Educator Resource Guides include background information, lesson plans, reproducible student activity sheets, parent information and national academic standards charts delineating how the content aligns with the National Health Education Standards and the Common Core State Standards.
NEA HIN encourages you to take advantage of these free resources available at no charge at neahin.org/store.
An accompanying handout written for parents and caregivers can be found here.
While it is critical that students become better educated to the facts and realities of the dangers involved in prescription drug misuse and abuse, it is imperative that adults get the proper education and guidance, as well. Trusted adult influences like parents, school nurses, school mental health personnel, and other educators are key to helping reverse the trend of teen prescription drug abuse and misuse, and they must be educated themselves about the problem.
Parents and educators must be mindful of the potential for prescription drug abuse with regard to students accessing parents’, grandparents’, or friends’ prescription medications right in their homes. Similarly, school staff must be vigilant in their observations of students’ behaviors and should take note in daily encounters with students of any behavior changes they may notice.
Staff should be aware of what medication(s) a student is taking, including after surgeries or hospitalizations when prescription drug use is common. This would be an ideal time to remind them of the dangers and risks of using these medications in any way other than they have been prescribed.
School leaders can take advantage of the following free resources to encourage ongoing professional development for their employees and to promote awareness and prevention in their schools and communities. Get the Rx for Understanding and be smart about prescription drugs.
Looking at our Medicine Cabinets in a Different Light
When around young children, we are vigilant about keeping them away from dangerous substances, and rightfully so. We baby-proof cabinets and move cleaning supplies and other hazards well out of their reach. But can the same be said of our efforts with older children and teens? Do we think enough about the temptations and hazards in our homes, especially those found in our medicine cabinets?
As you may have heard, prescription drug misuse and abuse is a growing problem in the United States, and sadly, it is occurring more often with tweens and teens. But did you know that 65% of teens who report abuse of prescription drugs get them from friends and family? As an educator, parent or caregiver would you know what to do if you suspected a teen was misusing or abusing prescription drugs? If your answer was no, you are not alone.
With the holiday season upon us, most tweens and teens will be out of school and have a lot of extra time on their hands, and for some that can lead to the temptation to experiment. But this time is also a great opportunity to inform ourselves about prescription drug abuse and talk to young people about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and misuse.
Perfect for educators, parents and caregivers, NEA HIN’s fact sheet, “What do you know about prescription drug abuse?” provides the facts about prescription drugs as well as key things youth should know. Download it for free, and be sure to tell others about this important resource.
Educators now have an opportunity to download two free resource guides designed to teach students about prescription drug abuse and misuse. Aligned with the National Health Education Standards and Common Core State Standards, the lessons aim to equip students with the understanding and decision-making skills they need to recognize and avoid the dangers of misusing and abusing prescription drugs. To download a free copy of the Rx for Understanding guides for grades 5-8 and 9-12, visit http://www.neahin.org/rxforunderstanding.
Making sure tweens and teens are well informed is a vital step to keeping them safe and healthy. And arming ourselves with knowledge and information is the first step.
Wishing you a safe and healthy holiday season