Prescription Drug Forum Planned For High School

Prescription painkillers pose an escalating problem among teens who find the drugs  at home in the medicine cabinet and often start down the road to addiction, experts say.

Prescription painkiller abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States and on Long Island; the problem has now surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death, statistics indicate.

Every day, 2700 teens try a prescription medicine to get high for the first time.
Prescription drug overdoses and armed pharmacy robberies are signs that the problem is growing. 

To that end, "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 L., 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.

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.

The Suffolk County sheriff’s office will also have an officer in attendance from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to collect any unused or unwanted prescription drugs that could otherwise end up in the hands of teens, addicts and criminals.