Officials seek to combat abuse of pharmaceuticals

Meeting attempts to educate professionals on growing trends.

By now, the most-recent stats are dated.
A 2005 national study found one in five teens report using prescription drugs to get high. One in 10 have used cough medicine for the same purpose.

The problem, though, is current, and becoming more visible in the Springfield area every day.

So Springfield's Community Partnership organized a workshop Thursday to teach officials how to spread the word.

"Prescription and over-the-counter medicine abuse has been increasing dramatically," Community Partnership Administrator Chris Davis told a room packed with dozens of local school, health and law enforcement workers.

They had come to the Doling Park Family Center to learn about the latest trends in medication abuse, and to have information to take back to their co-workers.

The Community Partnership distributed folders containing information on teen medication abuse, as well as tips on organizing a community meeting to address the problem.

Teens often get access to prescription drugs from home, Davis said. They might raid their parents' medicine chest for painkillers or sedatives. Elders aren't the only source, though: another 2005 study found that 52 percent of teens reported prescription drugs are widely available.

Then there are over-the-counter medications like cough syrup. Taken in high doses, the drugs contained in products such as Robitussin can cause a euphoric sensation. They can also be lethal.

The problem is surely not new, Davis said, but more media coverage has thrown it increasingly into the spotlight.

"A few years ago, you never heard anything about it," Davis said. "It's growing all over."

The sentiment was echoed by many of the seminar's attendees.

"It's a growing concern," said Chad McConnell, a security officer for the Nixa School District. "Our parents ask for help on what signs to pick up on."

McConnell said prescription drug abuse is particularly confounding because it's difficult to detect. He pointed out that, while you can smell marijuana or alcohol, pills have no scent.

That and, as so many teens related in 2005, the drugs are very accessible.

"It's right there in front of them," McConnell said. "It's everywhere."

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...420/1007/NEWS01

[Reverend Tulasi]

Holy shit, I live in Springfield, MO!