With the overwhelming rise in prescription addictions in the U.S. in recent years, communities are now looking for ways to educate the public about the dangers of prescription medication. Officials in the city of Santa Clarita are planning to host the “Pills Kill: Prescription to Addiction Symposium” as a way to bring more awareness to the problem of dangerous prescription drugs. They hope that by reaching out to parents and teens in the city they can work to reduce the number of people coping with serious addictions to painkillers and anxiety medications. Because prescription pills are so readily available and are legal, many citizens in the community may be unaware of the danger involved in taking them even when they are recommended by a doctor.
Dangerous Prescription Drugs as a Gateway
The symposium will be held on August 27th at the Santa Clarita Activities Center for all interested members of the community. Some of the focus of the program will be on educating young people about addiction and the possibility of developing a habit of taking prescription medication. It will also bring awareness to the fact that prescription drugs can become a gateway to other types of drug use that can be even more addictive and dangerous. When young teens get hooked on their medication they could eventually move on to illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine or even heroin. The symposium will discuss these matters so that parents and teens alike understand what can happen when they take medications like Oxycontin or Xanax even when prescribed by a doctor. These are some of the most common and also most addictive drugs available to teens that have caused problems for families in Santa Clarita and all across the country.
Drug Abuse in Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita officials sent out a press release calling prescription drugs a “silent killer” that are extremely dangerous and easily addictive especially when misused or taken inappropriately. Unfortunately for the members of the Santa Clarita community, prescription pill abuse has become more prevalent and destroyed many families in the city. The Mayor of the city, Laurene Weste, stated that they believe the most effective tools to use in the war on drugs are providing information to parents and teens to prevent drug abuse as much as possible. Educating people in the community can help to keep families safe from addiction and the devastation it can cause. This kind of education is the goal of putting together the program for the benefit of families in Santa Clarita.
Discussing Addiction with Families
The symposium will offer a panel of experts including officials from law enforcement and the Hart district, as well as an emergency room physician and pharmacist. This panel will lead the discussion and provide their knowledge and opinions to educate the public about prescription drug addiction. There will also be a Resource Expo before the symposium to provide additional information and help from addiction and recovery experts. The program is free for attendees and is open to the public with a live Spanish translation available. Santa Clarita officials believe that it is important to inform families about prescription drugs as a gateway, especially parents with teens and pre-teens. Junior high is typically the period of time when children begin to experiment with drugs and they could be offered prescription pills by friends in their school. According to statistics, 80 percent of kids who become heroin addicts begin with prescription pills. The drugs become all the more dangerous because of how easy they are to obtain, even for young people under the age of 18. The symposium will help parents talk to teens about drug abuse and work to prevent this kind of addiction.
