A pair from the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy shared with the Greenfield Rotary Club on Thursday about how to recognize and prevent drug misuse, abuse, and overdose.
The presentation, which was given by Rose Pavlakos who was accompanied by McClain graduate Stuart Beatty, covered the gamut of statistics, common drugs of abuse, risk factors for overdose and abuse, treatment, and harm reduction, according to a handout.
Statistics provided included that in the United States an average of 50 people die each day from overdoses of prescription pain medications, approximately seven of those daily deaths occur in Ohio, and the amount of prescription painkillers prescribed in 2010 was enough “to medicate every American adult around the clock for a month.”
Ways to help listed in the handout included storing medication safely, assisting with overdose prevention, and education on safe medication practices.
A number of agencies were provided where more information could be found: National Council on Patient Information and Education (talkaboutrx.org), National Institute on Drug Abuse (nida.nih.gov), Office of National Drug Control Policy (whitehousedrugpolicy.gov), Parents, The Antidrug (theantidrug.com), Partnership for a Drug-Free America (drugfree.org), Stop Medicine Abuse (stopmedicineabuse.org), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (samhsa.org).
The Greenfield Rotary Club meets each Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Catch 22 Sports Pub. For more information go to greenfieldrotary.org.
Reach Angela Shepherd at 937-393-3456, ext. 1681, or on Twitter @wordyshepherd.
