Becky Savage lost two of her sons to opioids but they were not addicts. They used the drugs alongside alcohol during a high school party and the next day they did not wake up, they were dead. Becky now speaks to students about the dangers of opioid use.
She said, "We've talked to our kids about drinking, but we had never talked to them about prescription drugs, because it wasn't even on our radar."
This is quite common in that alcohol is freely discussed and students are educated, but prescription drugs are ignored and forgotten. Simply educating children early on of the dangers associated with prescription drug use could help to prevent many overdoses in younger age groups.
Is it surprising that these two were able to use prescription drugs in high school and eventually overdose during their first use alongside alcohol? How can we better educate under-18 year olds about the dangers of prescription drugs and alcohol?
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/health/turning-points-becky-savage-opioids/index.html
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ReplyDeleteIt is both shocking and sad how often these instances are occurring. Educating kids about this is important. I also feel it's crucial that parents, especially those that use painkillers, should start having conversations with their kids about it.
DeleteI agree, parents who use painkillers need to start having conversations about it with their kids.
DeleteThis is really sad. Specially with the number of students in college that are prescribed some sort of opioid or anti-depressant that is really dangerous if combined with alcohol, I suspect that these instances may not be unique, but rather frequent.
ReplyDeleteA way that we can better educate is through the use of drug education campaigns. By adjusting the content based on the age group, one can inform students starting at a very early age.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am thinking about how such campaigns can be more effective if they are research-based and perhaps have victims who have suffered from the drugs to talk about their experiences which can have a more meaningful impact on the students.
The education of opioids has to be the same process as the education of alcohol. As Becky discusses, the combination of these two drugs can be seen as an extreme dopamine release, however it is so intense that it can kill. However, most schools hardly even educate about alcohol. It is unfortunate that more schools don't allocate more resources to educate students about these dangers
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