Experts see prescription drug abuse growing in area

Friday, March 6, 2009 12:09 AM EST

By LYNN COLLIER
Dispatch Staff Writer

CHITTENANGO — Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem locally, panelists at a town hall meeting on the subject said.

The event, sponsored by Madison County’s Promise and held at Chittenango High School Thursday night, highlighted a problem that is more evident than it appears to be on the surface and the ramifications young prescription drug abusers can face.

Panelists also spoke about solutions that can aid in keeping such substances out of the wrong hands.

The panel was made up of Madison County District Attorney Bill Gabor, New York State Trooper Jack Keller, Peter Lesko from Madison County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT), Cazenovia Pharmacist Billie Trapani, Chittenango High School Assistant Principal Dee Dee Hagemann, Chittenango Middle School Nurse Debra Gronau and Lisa Murray from Alcohol-Drug Abuse Prevention Education Program (ADA-PEP). Kathy Miller, also from ADA-PEP, moderated the event.

Keller spoke on youth drug use, presenting national statistics that showed that while the use of street drugs, like marijuana, is going down among teens, prescription drug abuse is up 13 percent between 2004 and 2007.

He said, and many repeated throughout the event, that accessibility is a big issue when it comes to why so many young people are abusing prescription drugs.

“The fact is it’s in your medicine cabinet,” Keller said. “It’s not going to cost anything.”

And if a young person is not able to get a drug at his or her own house, looking in a relative’s or friend’s home is an often sought-out way to find these drugs easily.

Though national statistics still show that young people abuse alcohol the most when it comes to drug use, Keller said that prescription drug abuse is catching up.

Opioids and stimulant drugs are among the most popular when it comes to abuse. Opioids are often prescribed to treat pain and include codeine and morphine, while stimulants may be used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy, Keller said.

Specific pain killers that are often abused including Oxycontin and Vicodin. In pill form, Keller said that those kinds of drugs can be easily concealed in something as innocent looking as a mint box, a place where parents wouldn’t normally think to look for drugs.

It’s when students become drowsy, confused or develop other physical symptoms in school or other places that the drug abuse is most likely to be discovered.

Keller said kids as young as 12 years old are dabbling and though they’re not going out looking for cocaine or heroin, they are looking for that kind of high.

“There is an opportunity to get a similar effect to that just by going to the medicine cabinet,” he said.

Over-the-counter drugs are also being abused, he said, including drugs found in some cough and cold syrups.

Keller said another trend emerging is that girls, including high achievers, seem to be abusing prescription drugs more than boys. He said young females are also abusing OTC drugs like diuretics and laxatives.

“For the longest time, the thing we see with girls is them going to stores and shoplifting diet pills,” he said, adding that sometimes it is in large quantities. “It’s a whole thing about trying to stay skinny. It’s their version of trying to be healthy.”

Trapani said that she has seen girls buying large quantities of both in her pharmacy and said she’s put limits on the amount of laxatives they can buy.

But in addition to body image issues, Keller said that stress appears to be a reason why youths get into abusing prescription drugs.

Lesko, who estimated he deals with between five and ten kids at a time dealing with prescription drug abuse problems in this area through the ADAPT program, said that young people have a variety reasons for beginning, whether it’s dealing with grief or loss or just being bored during a Central New York winter weekend. Lesko that peer pressure plays into this sort of drug use as well.

Though some people may not believe that this sort of drug use is local, Lesko said that there are cases in the Oneida and Chittenango areas. Hagemann said that she has also encountered problems as assistant principal of Chittenango High School.

“Over the last three or four years, I have noticed a significant increase in kids abusing prescription drugs,” she said.

As the middle school nurse, Gronau said she has seen the same. Both agree it is difficult to control within the school environment. “It’s almost impossible for us to manage at a level in the school and we need all the help we can get,” Hagemann said.

Chittenango High School has an ADA-PEP counselor in the form of Murray, though, who brought the idea of the panel to school.

“People think this is a really new trend, but I saw this 10 years ago,” she said.

Though there are things like awareness week in school, where drug abuse is discussed and discouraged, as well as programs like DARE and the yearly local Rite Aid Drug Quiz competition, the problem is getting larger.

“I really see this as a public health crisis,” Murray said.

It can get even harder when parents refuse to get involved in a meaningful way, she said, as once it is discovered that their child has a problem, some are in a state of denial. Lesko agreed.

“Parents turn a blind eye to it,” he said. “They have a very hard time.”

Both said that there are other times, when parents are facing substance abuse problems themselves and can’t be there for their child because of it.

Either scenario can be difficult when a parent’s investment in a child’s treatment can make or break whether or not the attempt to get a kid back on the right track is successful or not, Lesko said.

Either way, Lesko said there is a definite problem when it comes to young people abusing prescription drugs.

“We do see it as a problem. It does exist,” he said. “Hopefully people will pay attention to it more.”

Gabor spoke on the legal problems possessing or selling prescription drugs can mean for a youth. As an offender under 15, a youth may be tried in family court, not face as stiff a penalty and see his or her record sealed, but by the time the youth reaches 16, the hammer could come down harder, leaving a permanent stain on his or her record and bringing a tougher sentence.

He also addressed questions regarding the matter of school officials dealing with problems in school involving the possession or selling of prescription drugs before law enforcement is called in, remarking that he didn’t agree with that method of handling such a problem and would be looking into it further.

Mentioned at the end of the program was the upcoming creation of a safe pill drop-off location, for no-longer-needed pills that will be established in June and sponsored by several local agencies. Trapani said that one thing that people can do already to make sure that prescription drugs aren’t abused is turn pills that they won’t be using back into their pharmacy, or grind them up, mix them with coffee grinds and throw them away. To secure prescriptions they are using, she suggested that one can keep them in a locked tackle box.

“You have to be responsible,” she said. “We all have kids. We all believe that we can trust them, but it’s your responsibility, in the end, to secure your prescriptions.”

Linda Kendall, who attended the meeting with her granddaughter, Mary, a seventh grader at Chittenango Middle School, said that the event was eye-opening.

“I found it very informative. I realized that there’s an awful lot I didn’t know,” she said. “I knew we had a problem, but I didn’t know girls were more at risk.”

Mary, who participated and scored well in the 2008 drug quiz competition, was also surprised by that and other numbers shown during the presentation.

“I didn’t know how much these things were abused,” she said. “I didn’t realize what the statistics were.”

Linda said that education about the harms of prescription drug abuse should probably start earlier for kids. She also said perhaps society could go a little easier on prescribing drugs, relying on them less as a solution for every problem, therefore decreasing their everyday presence.

For more information on Madison County’s Promise, visit:

www.madisoncountyspromise.com
>link to the article

Article in the Oneida Dispatch

Follow the link to read about the coalition's feature in the paper: http://www.oneidadispatch.com/articles/2008/12/23/news/doc49507daeba850394031541.txt

Michael Klitzner Training

Many thanks to Michael Klitzner, PhD for joining us in the month of November for a very special training on Environmental Prevention. If you missed the training or just want to look at some notes, you can download the PowerPoint presentation by clicking right here.

Dear Lynne

This is the first in a series of columns that will be published here on the Promise Blog and also in the Oneida Daily Dispatch.

Dear Lynne,

My 16 year old daughter has been acting very strangely. She used to enjoy our time together as a family but now she gets moody and angry. I am worried that she is starting to hate me and that I may lose her. She spends more and more time with her friends and I don’t really know her anymore. When I ask questions about where she is, she gets mad and shuts me out. I want a better relationship with my daughter. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Maggie
…………………………………………………………..

Dear Maggie,
Fear not! Your daughter IS in there somewhere.
Adolescence is a time filled with change, both for children and parents. Parents watch as their children naturally gravitate more toward their peer groups, away from family focused activities that once brought everyone great joy. This time can be confusing and frustrating for parents. In addition to the multitude of biological changes which keep children guessing about their own reactions, priorities and feelings, they feel an urge to define themselves as individuals and express themselves in ways that may leave others scratching their heads.
Why the sudden change?
Did I do something wrong?
Why does my child act like they hate me?
If anything, your child should be angry that limits are being placed on them. It’s natural that they would be resistant if they think you are stepping on their turf and interfering on their freedom. I always say “If your teen really likes you all the time, you are probably doing something wrong”. That being said, I don’t want you to read this and perceive that having a positive, trusting relationship between you and your child is wrong. It is healthy in a developmental sense that your child wants to invest themselves more in relationships outside the immediate family. They just need you to monitor and supervise them; like holding the stick for someone venturing into quicksand.
It is also natural that during this time, children and teens test those around them, especially the people they trust and value the most. That’s why it is more important than ever to give children clear limits and expectations for their behaviors. Don’t take her behaviors personally. What annoys her now in regard to your menacing insistence on being nosey will teach her in the long run that she is worth protecting and she will have a template for making her own safe decisions. Adolescence is a time when your parent/child relationship goes into hibernation. Spring will likely come after your daughter has experienced life as a young adult and her personality will hopefully thaw.

Best of luck to you!

Sincerely,
Lynne


Lynne Bialas is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who practices out of Rome, NY. She works extensively with parents, children and teens on family and individual issues. Write to Lynne by sending submissions to : BRiDGES, attn: Dear Lynne, 3059 Seneca Turnpike, Canastota NY 13032

Old MCP promotional slideshow....

Enjoy!

IMPACT Youth Night!

IMPACT, a committee of Madison County's Promise, held their first event on October 12. The event was called "Youth Night." Youth Night was a collaboration between Madison County's Promise IMPACT, the Oneida Recreation Department, and ACT For Youth.
Many local area businesses supported Youth Night with donations: THANK YOU!

There were many fun activities planned for Youth Night, ranging from sports in the gym to live music and Wii games/Rock Band video games.

IMPACT hopes to plan one event a year. In between events, IMPACT will be a forum for the youth pastor/leader to network and share ideas.
See more photos from the event by clicking right here.

Past MCP Town Hall Meetings

**Underage Drinking: Not A Minor Problem- March 31st 2008***

A follow up to the 2007 Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking in Cazenovia. The 2008 Meeting focused on a 'hands on' approach to working on the issue of underage drinking.


***On Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Internet Safety- November 8th 2007***

Pictures from the Town Hall, above.



Parents:
Did you know that you can find videos of local teens you might know fighting on sites like YouTube ?

Did you know that you can teach your child how to deal with bullying?

Do you know that the best way to protect your child from internet predators is to KEEP the computer instead of taking it away from them?

Teens:
Did you know that there really are people out there that surf sites like MySpace and find all sorts of information on you, even if you just post a picture and no info?

Do you know how to talk to your parents about bullying?

Do you know what to do if a peer tries to bully you on IM or MySpace?
***On Underage Drinking, Cazenovia Town Hall Meeting- April 18th 2007***

As a result of the Town Hall Meeting in Cazenovia that addressed underage drinking, Project Cafe recently held the Solstice, a concert in the park that was alcohol-free. This was in response to the community's need for more fun, alcohol-free events as was discussed at the Town Hall Meeting.




Photo Credit: Angela Madonia / Post Standard

Andrew Docherty, 22, of Cazenovia, and goes to school at Onondaga Community College expresses his concerns of teen drinking at the meeting Wednesday evening at the Cazenovia Library
For more news from Madison County, click here.