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Don't Miss: Prescription Drug Forum At Riverhead High School
Every day, 2700 teens try a prescription medicine to get high for the first time, experts say.
"Rx for Disaster: Get Smart about Prescription Painkillers and Over the Counter (OTC) Drugs," a community forum hosted by the Riverhead Community Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, will take place on Monday at 7 p.m. at Riverhead High School.
The forum will address the growing problem of prescription painkillers and over the counter drug abuse on Long Island and among young people -- and ways community members can work cooperatively to address the problem and the subsequent related crime.
Keynote speakers will include Dr. Alexis Hugelmeyer, Director of Community Education at Peconic Bay Medical Center and local family physician, and Cathy Lombardo, a Long Island mother who lost her 20-year-old son to a drug overdose after an eight year addiction that started with prescription painkillers.
Lombardo shared the harrowing story of her son's descent into drug addiction with Patch.
In addition, a panel of local experts will be comprised of representatives from law enforcement, the medical community, substance abuse prevention and treatment fields, and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
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