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 https://www.neahin.org/rxforunderstanding/. A few hard copies are still available and can be ordered at no charge at neahin.org/store.
Posted by Libby Nealis
on February 26, 2014