Good morning. I am Abbie Vianes, Coordinator of the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Coalition on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs. August is National Medicine Abuse Awareness month and we are here to launch our Clean Out The Cabinet campaign.

There is a new drug trend in our nation and a new breed of drug dealers. Prescription drug abuse now kills twice as many people as illegal street drugs yet youth and even parents think prescription drug abuse is less dangerous. The rationale is that prescription drugs are prescribed by a physician, dispensed by a pharmacy, and the ingredients are controlled, unlike street drugs. But the truth is -prescription drug abuse is very very dangerous and all too common, even here in Utah. In Salt Lake City, more than one in ten high school seniors has abused a prescription narcotic.

It is also not generally known that sharing prescription drugs is a felony. Use prescription medications only as directed. This new drug trend  requires the immediate action of parents – to become aware of prescription drug abuse, to safeguard medications in the home, and to talk with teens about the life threatening dangers of prescription medication abuse.

Kids who learn at home about the risks of drugs are up to 50% less likely to use drugs yet only one third of parents discuss the risks of abusing prescription medicines with their children. Kids say their parents hold the most influence in keeping them drug free – more influence than friends or media.

Illegal drug use by teens has dropped significantly but unfortunately that decline has been

eaten up by pill use.  Non-medical use of prescription drugs is up 80% in the last 8 years. Last year, in Utah, unintentional prescription pain medication overdoses were the number one cause of injury deaths. At 5 deaths per week, that was more than from motor vehicle crashes.

Substance use treatment for pain medication jumped 321% between 1995 and 2005.

The new drug dealers in town are home medicine cabinets. 64% of teens, ages 12 to 17 who abuse prescription drugs, report drugs are easily accessible in their homes or available from a relative or friend – typically without their knowledge.  Joseph Califano, Director of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, said that when parents leave addictive medications like OxyContin and Vicodin around the house, thus making these drugs available to their children, the parents unknowingly become passive pushers.”

The prescription drugs teens say are most commonly abused are pain killers. Many of these painkillers are narcotics, opiates, such as Percocet, Percodan, Vicodin, Loratab, Oxycontin, Methadone, etc.  which are highly addictive. Teens who abuse Oxycontin often turn to street heroin which is much cheaper. Suddenly, parents who never in their worst nightmares could even dream of having a child addicted to heroin, do. It is tragic. Other prescription drugs that youth are abusing are ADD & ADHD meds such as Adderall and Ritalin, and other stimulants such as Dexedrine. They also take Valium, Librium, and Xanax.

The 2 key factors driving this new trend among our youth are: the misperception that abusing prescription medication is not harmful and the easy availability of these medications. 73% of teens say the number one reason they turn to prescription drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school.  Yet only 7% of parents believe that teens might use drugs to cope with stress.  Parents need to regularly remind their children that they are loved and admired for whom they are, not for their grades and achievements, make family time a priority and have frequent discussions about the risks of prescription drug abuse.

Parents are advised to inventory and monitor medications in their home, keep drugs in a secure location and Clean Out the Cabinet to dispose of leftover or expired drugs. Count your pills in your prescription bottles, and keep track of refills. Keep your medicines in a safe place such as a locked cabinet your child cannot access. Tell relatives, especially grandparents to lock their medications or keep them in a safe place.  Clean Out Your Cabinet – dispose of expired or unused prescription drugs. Cleaning  Out the Medicine Cabinet is the single most significant action that can by taken immediately by everyone. This simple step has the greatest effect in preventing teens from abusing prescription drugs. Do these 4 easy steps: Inventory your meds, Monitor your meds, Secure your meds, and Clean Out the Cabinet of left over and expired meds.  Please talk regularly with your children to keep them safe. Research shows parents are quick to take action once they become aware of the danger of prescription drug abuse.

Now Leah Ann Lamb, Assistant Director of the Utah Division of Water Quality will explain how to properly dispose of your prescription medications – once you’ve Cleaned Out the Cabinet!  Thank you.

Websites: UseOnlyAsDirected.org

                 Notinmyhouse.com

                 TimeToTalk.org