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The abuse of prescription drugs is a growing concern in our country, especially among teenagers. In 2006, it’s estimated more than 2.1 million teens ages 12 to 17 abused prescription drugs.
For many, it may have started as an experiment. That brown pill bottle with a white label in their grandparents’ medicine cabinet looked intriguing. Why not see how relaxed and pain-free Vicodin makes a person feel?
Such an experiment has the potential to be deadly, however. Teens can overdose on painkillers, especially if they’re mixed with other drugs, such as alcohol. Other prescription drugs, such as OxyContin, Valium or Xanax, and even medications for kids with ADD and ADHD, like Ritalin and Adderall, have the potential for abuse. They can be addictive and dangerous.
That’s why communities need to make sure prescription drugs aren’t accidentally falling into the hands of teenagers. Winston is taking the lead in Douglas County to keep that from happening.
The city has announced a prescription medication roundup by its police department. It’s a direct response to concern over the increasing abuse of prescription drugs by the city’s teens.
Winston residents are asked to look inside their medicine cabinets to see if they’ve left languishing any containers of potentially dangerous drugs. If so, the way to dispose of them properly is to take them to the Winston Police Department.
It’s not safe to simply flush them down the toilet because the chemicals could pollute the water supply. Throwing them away could allow them to be retrieved by someone else.
Instead, the Winston police intend to incinerate the prescriptions.
Winston’s campaign is one result of a $100,000 federal Drug Free Communities grant. The goal of the grant is to reduce substance abuse by everyone. One way to do that is by removing factors that could lead to drug abuse. That’s what prompted Linda Cline, manager of the grant program in Winston, to ask police for their cooperation in collecting unused medications in the community.
Cline knew that a lot of people might not have thought about the drugs that are readily available in their homes, so they need to be made aware of the dangers of leaving unused portions accessible.
Parents who want to learn more about preventing prescription drug abuse among teens will find a wealth of information on a Web site called Parents —the Anti-Drug at www.theantidrug.com.
We appreciate the efforts of Winston to bring this issue to the attention of its residents.
We encourage other communities to follow the city’s example.
Every prescription turned in has the potential of keeping a teenager from starting down a path toward drug abuse. That’s a prevention campaign we can get behind.
For many, it may have started as an experiment. That brown pill bottle with a white label in their grandparents’ medicine cabinet looked intriguing. Why not see how relaxed and pain-free Vicodin makes a person feel?
Such an experiment has the potential to be deadly, however. Teens can overdose on painkillers, especially if they’re mixed with other drugs, such as alcohol. Other prescription drugs, such as OxyContin, Valium or Xanax, and even medications for kids with ADD and ADHD, like Ritalin and Adderall, have the potential for abuse. They can be addictive and dangerous.
That’s why communities need to make sure prescription drugs aren’t accidentally falling into the hands of teenagers. Winston is taking the lead in Douglas County to keep that from happening.
The city has announced a prescription medication roundup by its police department. It’s a direct response to concern over the increasing abuse of prescription drugs by the city’s teens.
Winston residents are asked to look inside their medicine cabinets to see if they’ve left languishing any containers of potentially dangerous drugs. If so, the way to dispose of them properly is to take them to the Winston Police Department.
It’s not safe to simply flush them down the toilet because the chemicals could pollute the water supply. Throwing them away could allow them to be retrieved by someone else.
Instead, the Winston police intend to incinerate the prescriptions.
Winston’s campaign is one result of a $100,000 federal Drug Free Communities grant. The goal of the grant is to reduce substance abuse by everyone. One way to do that is by removing factors that could lead to drug abuse. That’s what prompted Linda Cline, manager of the grant program in Winston, to ask police for their cooperation in collecting unused medications in the community.
Cline knew that a lot of people might not have thought about the drugs that are readily available in their homes, so they need to be made aware of the dangers of leaving unused portions accessible.
Parents who want to learn more about preventing prescription drug abuse among teens will find a wealth of information on a Web site called Parents —the Anti-Drug at www.theantidrug.com.
We appreciate the efforts of Winston to bring this issue to the attention of its residents.
We encourage other communities to follow the city’s example.
Every prescription turned in has the potential of keeping a teenager from starting down a path toward drug abuse. That’s a prevention campaign we can get behind.
