I was invited to participate in an all-day seminar at Brandywine High School on prescription drug use and abuse.

The speakers included Mary Teachout, Berrien County Health Advisor; Vice Principal Jim Boger, and me. Each of us provided a different point of view concerning the problem with prescription drugs. Each of the high school classes, ninth through twelfth grades, had an hour with us watching videos and hearing different experiences.

A growing problem with this age group, prescription drugs are a risk for high school students as their frontal cortex hasn’t developed fully, thus making them susceptible to risk taking. Peer pressure and easy access are also prevalent.

Parents, I ask these questions of you to help us with this growing and dangerous problem:

• Are your prescription drugs secured?

• Are you sure?

Abusing prescription drugs is becoming increasingly common among teens. Because prescription drugs are prescribed by a doctor, there is a myth that they are safe. However, it is not safe to use someone else’s prescription drugs or to misuse drugs that are prescribed to you.

Misuse and abuse of these drugs is reaching epidemic proportions in our nation. According to the 2009 National Prescription Drug Treatment Assessment, individuals abusing painkillers and other narcotics often switch to heroin.

Regardless of age, we all need to do our part to prevent prescription drug abuse in our community by monitoring, securing and properly disposing of our medications. It is our voice, our community and our opportunity.

Start taking action by checking your medicine cabinets, talking to family and friends about this issue and learning more about the warning signs of prescription drug abuse.

What can you do?

• Take inventory of all medicines in your home regularly and make sure that they are monitored and secured

• Only taking medications as prescribed to you

• Talk to youth in your life about the dangers of abusing medicine

• Properly dispose of expired or unused medications.

This week’s tip from Do 1 Thing continues with water collection. You should know how to provide a safe supply of drinking water for your household in a disaster. Your water heater can be a useful source, however, do not use if the tank or fixtures have been submerged in floodwater. Make sure to:

• Turn off the gas or electricity to the water heater

• Turn off the water intake valve

• Open the drain at the bottom of the tank

• Turn on a hot water faucet (water will drain from the tank, not the faucet. Discard the first few gallons if they contain rust or sediment. Do not turn on the gas or electricity back on until the tank is refilled

You can also retrieve water from pipes by:

• Turn off main water valve where the water comes into the house (usually near the water meter if you have city water)

• Let air into the pipes by turning on the highest faucet in your house

• Get water from the lowest faucet in your house (never get water from faucets that have been submerged in floodwater)

If you have freezer space, consider freezing part of your water supply.

This has the added advantage of keeping food in the freezer cold longer during a power outage.

 

Email any questions or comments to TrooperRob53@yahoo.com