Now is the Time to Fund Drug Education

Grassroots nonprofits like NOPE need assistance in order to expand innovative and effective anti-drug initiatives in classrooms, workplaces, buses and trains, sports arenas, and many other places.

As a nation, we need to push down the drug overdose rates and to educate the next generation of youths to stay clear of abusing powerful painkillers and anti-anxiety pills. 

How do we do that? One way is through more funding.

In our line of work at NOPE Task Force, we are focused on addressing troubling data like this: In 2010, two million people reported using prescription painkillers non-medically for the first time within a 12-month period – nearly 5,500 a day – many of them teenagers and young adults.

Our communities have to reverse the patterns of how drugs are abused, especially among youths. For instance, most teenagers who abuse prescription drugs get them for free from friends or relatives – often without their knowledge. Many teens abuse medication to get high or because they think drugs will help them with schoolwork.

Grassroots nonprofits like NOPE could use extra public and private funds to expand innovative and effective anti-drug initiatives in classrooms, workplaces, buses and trains, sports arenas, and many other places so many more youths and adults can be reached. We specifically have to connect with more students during school hours so they can be around their peers, teachers and counselors when they learn about the dangers of abusing drugs and the painful outcomes of drug overdoses.

NOPE reaches close to 100,000 students a year through our drug presentations at schools, colleges, and community centers. Our staff and volunteers see first-hand what happens the moment students get the message that drugs can kill: they cry, they seek help, and they vow not to use drugs. It’s very powerful.

NOPE also puts on annual candle light vigils in late October across the nation. These vigils, organized in nearly 50 communities and attended by thousands of people, strive to raise awareness and open the doors to recovery by eliminating the prejudice that follows the disease of addiction.

Our nation is at the crossroads in the fight against prescription pills abuse.

We are turning the corner on this dark chapter by educating the masses about drug abuse. With more funding, though, groups like NOPE can reach many more students and communities and have an even bigger impact on reducing drug usage.

Now is the time to fund drug education programs even more. 

Karen Perry is the executive director of NOPE Task Force.

Why we Advocate

NOPE is no stranger to fighting for legislation that reduces our nation’s drug abuse problems. Lately, the organization has joined the battle to keep Florida’s drug database on the books.

By Karen Perry

At the entrance to the NOPE office in West Palm Beach, Fla. is a wall filled with faces of those who died of drug overdoses, many looking forever happy in photos taken when long life seemed so certain.

These faces motivate us at Narcotics Overdose Prevention & Education (NOPE) Task Force to advocate for meaningful reforms at the state and federal levels in combating the proliferation of illegal drugs and the unlawful distribution of powerful prescription pills.

We believe young people cannot die from drug overdoses if they do not have access to drugs.

Lately, our efforts have focused on a remarkable shift in Florida’s main weapon against pill mills, the so-called rogue pain management clinics blamed for excessively dispensing powerful painkillers and fueling the illegal spread of prescription drugs throughout the Southeast.

On the morning of February 8, many of us at NOPE awoke to news that Gov. Rick Scott was moving to abolish a computer database that would track every prescription for narcotic drugs. He intended to repeal the 2009 law that would let doctors, pharmacists and others check whether a patient has received excessive narcotics prescriptions. His reason: the database was expensive to maintain and could violate the privacy of individuals.

Scott's proposal stunned our network of legislators, law enforcement officials and other advocates who fought with us for eight years -- yes, eight years -- until Florida finally adopted the same tool that 39 other states use to track the illegal distribution of narcotic drugs from pain clinics.

Many of us spent those eight years writing letters, attending rallies, driving to Tallahassee and pleading with legislators to pass the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, or PDMP. We were driven by the conviction that this database will reduce "doctor shopping" and save thousands of lives.

For us, especially me, this fight was very personal. My 21-year-old son died of a drug overdose from prescription pills and heroin in 2003. His death galvanized me to prevent more senseless overdose deaths. Creating a drug-monitoring program has been my passion and labor ever since.

NOPE is no stranger to fighting for legislation that reduces our nation’s drug abuse problems. 

We have advocated for creating a 911 Good Samaritan law in Florida to provide limited immunity from prosecution for people who report overdoses to the authorities. We also have looked at encouraging legislators to require that anyone brought into a Florida hospital with a drug overdose be compelled to participate in a substance abuse assessment by a licensed service provider.

But creating the prescription drug database has been our strongest cause. 

That morning in February, many NOPE supporters called us and posted on our Facebook page their outrage over the sudden decision to do away with the PDMP.

Barbara Constantino Raynor of North Carolina wrote: “That is crazy. It is difficult enough to get the doctors to stop giving narcotics to...everyone, at least this makes them accountable for what they are doing.”

“What a shock,” added Jill Levenson of Florida.

Within hours, we mobilized a facts-sheet and began talking to policy makers and the news media about the impact of the governor’s decision. I went to Tallahassee again to speak with key legislators.

As of this writing, we haven’t yet swayed the governor to overturn his opposition to the database. But NOPE and our network has helped bring renewed focus on prescription drug abuse, making it a leading news story across Florida and other states.

Perhaps the media attention got the governor thinking.

Weeks into the battle over the database, he and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi created a pill mill task force that will pull resources from state agencies to solve problems with prescription-drug abuse.

No matter what happens, we will keep the email, social media and phone chains going.

We can’t stop now.

That wall of faces in our office is there for a reason. 

If you value NOPE Task Force’s commitment to preventing drug overdoses, please consider a voluntary contribution to support the organization. Donate at www.nopetaskforce.org/donations.asp

Karen Perry is the executive director of NOPE Task Force. You can reach her at kperry@nopetaskforce.org.

Reality of abuse will break your heart

Reality of abuse will break your heart

By Karen Kelly

We are losing friends, neighbors and family members to prescription drug abuse at an alarming rate – one person every 19 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There isn’t a family in America immune from the impact of this epidemic. Those fortunate enough to escape the personal toll of prescription drug abuse first-hand are, instead, forced to bear the burden of increased costs for health care, treatment, government services, workplace safety and law enforcement.

It is estimated that at least 3 out of every 4 child abuse or neglect cases across the country involve substance abuse by parents or caregivers. Does this break your heart? It does mine. Especially since we have it within our abilities to do something to lower the numbers.

But how can this be accomplished?

Engaging families, educating youth and raising the consciousness of concerned communities – such as the campaigns undertaken by the NOPE Task Force – is a valuable and effective strategy. Individual efforts are making an impact, but there is greater strength through a comprehensive, coordinated and all-inclusive approach.

On April 10-12, the first National Rx Drug Abuse Summit will be held in Orlando to foster better understanding and cooperation between all stakeholders and learn how cooperation can lead to successful outcomes. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn from community advocates, medical professionals, treatment experts, educators, private industry, state and national leaders and law enforcement officials.

Keynote presentations will be made by Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse; R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin; and Joseph T. Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator for the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control.

Summit sessions are divided into five educational tracks – health care, advocacy and prevention, human resources, treatment and law enforcement – tailored to provide timely and relevant information. Programs include more than 40 breakout sessions, five moderated panel discussions and “select sessions” providing in-depth examination of innovative programs and strategies.

Our youth are experimenting with prescription drugs at an earlier age and in higher percentages than illicit drugs. Overdose death rates are escalating in proportion to the growing level of narcotic abuse. It’s time to take a more proactive, unified approach.

Karen Kelly is president/CEO of Operation UNITE (Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education) serving southern and eastern Kentucky.

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Parent Advocate

(Sharon Blair is a NOPE Task Force supporter living in Bloomington, Ind. This is a letter she published in the Bloomington Herald Times Newspaper.)

January 25, 2012 (Publish Date)

JENNIFER ACT STILL WORTH FIGHTING FOR
Guest Column Bloomington Herald Times Newspaper

I am a Bloomington resident who has worked very hard to improve Indiana laws to aid families who are in a crisis of substance addiction. I drafted The Jennifer Act [proposed bill] for Indiana and Florida after the accidental death of my precious daughter, Jennifer Reynolds, January 15, 2009. The Jennifer Act has been introduced for 3 years into the Indiana General Assembly by State Senator Vi Simpson.
In 2010, The Jennifer Act was introduced as Indiana Senate Bill 380, in 2011 it was introduced as Indiana Senate Bill 22 and in 2012, it has been introduced as Indiana [SCR 0007] Senate ConCurrent Resolution No. 007. As I found out, the legislative process is very long and often takes years, to see a bill or revision come to pass. In Florida, the Jennifer Act has been introduced for 2012 by Florida State Senator Jack Latvala as Senate Bill No. 1744 Titled " The Jennifer Act".

I know the Herald Times covers issues facing our local community and our state and wanted to bring your attention to a Bloomington resident who has not given up the mission and the advocacy of The Jennifer Act. Indiana Senators on the Committee on Health and Provider Services will review The Jennifer Act [SCR0007]. The Indiana State Senators who are on this Committee are: Senator Miller (Chair), Senator Mishler, Senator Becker, Senator Charbonneau, Senator Gard, Senator Grooms, Senator Leising, Senator Breaux, Senator Rogers and Senator Simpson.

The intent of SCR No.0007 is to improve commitment laws to better aid Indiana families who are in need of emergency help and intervention for those who are chronically and progressively substance addicted. Those addicted are severely impaired and often do not see a way out of the downward spiral of addiction . Addiction is a brain disease and left untreated, they face overdose death or incarceration. There is a stigma attached to families suffering with addiction. It's ripple effects are far reaching. Addiction is a family disease, because it effects the entire family. Addicted parents lose their children due to substance addiction and incarceration. Grand parents and other relatives are left to raise the children of the addicted or else they are placed in foster homes. I include secular and faith based treatment with The Jennifer Act. I am very familiar with faith based treatment and have witnessed many lives changed, who have received faith based treatment. In conclusion, as a Christian,I feel that The Jennifer Act is a ministry that God has intended for His purpose and plan. My website has brought many people to contact me from all across the United States. They ask me for help, advice, references and many are grieving parents who have just lost their children to overdose death. They are devastated and share the most candid emails with me about their loved one who passed away. I remain hopeful that we will see The Jennifer Act manifest and families will be saved by this important intervention tool. I am including the bill draft for your review.
Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Sharon Blair

Five Years of NOPE Candlelight Vigils

Five Years of NOPE Candlelight Vigils

Our message has caught the attention of young people who have suffered like so many others from our nation’s drug abuse problems. Many teens and young adults attended 51 NOPE vigils in late October.   

By Karen Perry

At the recent NOPE National Candlelight Vigil in West Palm Beach, Fla., I shared the stage with Florida’s attorney general, a former state senator, the local state attorney, a top sheriff’s official, a county commissioner and a TV news anchor.

That level of support was incredible – and unimaginable when we started organizing vigils five years ago to raise awareness about substance abuse and open the doors to recovery.

Just as powerful for me on that Oct. 27^th evening, though, was being among the young people.  

The few dozen teenagers and young adults sitting in chairs and stands in the pavilion was the reason we created the vigil in Palm Beach County, as well as in dozens of other places across the nation. Like so many other Americans, our youths are deeply impacted by the drug overdose epidemic. They too have lost loved ones and close friends.

Still, studies show that many middle school, high school and college students aren’t too concerned about experimenting with powerful pain medications. Too many young people aren’t clear about the potentially deadly consequences of mixing prescription pills with alcohol and illicit drugs.

That’s the perception our vigils are trying to change.

We started the vigils with just three sites: Palm Beach County, Fla., Orlando, Fl., and Lassen County, Calif. I still remember getting a call from the organizer in Lassen County who was in tears about the success of the first vigil. The moon was beautiful that night – and we both saw it from opposite coasts in the U.S. That same year, in 2007, the federal drug enforcement agent who investigated my son’s fatal drug overdose case spoke at the vigil at University of Central Florida.

The following year, we expanded the vigils to New Hampshire, Indiana and Martin County, Fla.  And the events, held during the last week of October in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, grew from there.

This year, 51 communities organized vigils.

Along the way, we got big names like the nation’s drug czar Gil Kerlikowske and Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi to speak at our West Palm Beach vigils. They came because they believed in our message: it’s time to change perceptions that the disease of addiction is deserved and shameful.

Attorney General Bondi said it best during the most recent vigil: “When it comes to addiction, there is no place to blame. There’s only a place to love.”

I couldn’t agree more. Hopefully our young people understood that message as well. By coming to the vigil, I suspect they did.

If you value NOPE Task Force’s commitment to preventing drug overdoses, please consider a voluntary payment to support the organization. Donate at www.nopetaskforce.org/donations.asp.

Karen Perry is the executive director of NOPE Task Force.

NOPE Vigils Aim to Eliminate Prejudice Toward Drug Abuse

By Karen Perry

As we know, so many lives have been tragically destroyed or lost to substance abuse. Too often, the disease of addiction is perceived as deserved and shameful, leaving loved ones to grieve in silence or addicts to struggle alone.

The NOPE National Candlelight Vigil strives to change that.

During the last week in October, in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, we are raising awareness and opening the doors to recovery through our vigils in more than 50 communities across the U.S. Through speakers, compelling images, and moments of silence, the participants will understand the disease of addiction, which shows no prejudice to people of any walk of life or background.

NOPE believes that once someone understands the depth of addition, he or she will eliminate the prejudice that engulfs the disease and remove the shame that comes with it. We also believe that acceptance of the disease can be humbling to the soul and empowering to those in need of help.

That’s what we hope will be the takeaway for the thousands of people expected to attend our vigils, most of which will be held on Oct. 27.

At our main vigil event in West Palm Beach, Fla., Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will be keynote speaker. At other events, our nation’s drug czar, Director Gil Kerlikowske of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, will address the audience in a recorded speech.

This is our fifth annual vigil. As our event has grown in recent years, unfortunately so has our nation’s drug overdose epidemic. This year, there have been great strides to reverse the trend: new anti-drug laws have appeared in many states; and many more elected officials, including President Obama, have championed the cause of reducing these senseless deaths. Still, the death rates remain high and continue to climb in many parts of the country.

We’re happy to report, though, that in Palm Beach County, Fla., where NOPE is headquartered, the overdose numbers have dropped, likely because of high-profile advocacy and educational campaigns as well as aggressive law enforcement efforts launched by our many partners. So that tells you something: when communities make reducing drug abuse a high priority, the problems tend to diminish.

So I urge you, your families, and your friends to find the time and attend one of our upcoming vigils near your town. Here are the locations: nopetaskforce.org/vigils_locations.asp. If the closest vigil is too far away, host a small vigil in your home. Here are the instructions on how to do that: nopetaskforce.org/vigils_host.asp.

Help us in honoring the memories of those lost to drugs and eliminating prejudice for those suffering from substance abuse.

“Take-Back” Programs Offer Safe Disposals of Prescription Drugs

By Karen H. Perry,

The home medicine cabinet is a minefield.

Each day, nearly 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time – and a majority of those pills are known to come from family and friends, including the medicine cabinet.

With children going back to school, now is the perfect time to clean out your medicine cabinet. There are many ways to do this depending on how organized or attuned your community is to this issue.

Most leftover and expired medicines can be thrown in the household trash, and a few can be flushed down the toilet. But I suggest taking advantage of the growing number of community-based “take-back” programs that offer a safer disposal alternative.

These convenient, cost-effective programs allow the public to bring unused drugs to a central location for proper disposal.  The drop-off locations vary across the country. Many are at police departments. Others are at temporary places like pharmacies and community centers. All of them use secure equipment and strict procedures to prevent theft or diversion.

I’ve seen first-hand in Florida as nervous parents returned containers of old drugs, fearful that their toddlers will get their hands on them or that their teens will want to experiment with them.

It’s no joke. Home medicine cabinets have become the new drug dealers. But it’s one drug dealer that parents can put a stop to.

For me, the take-back programs are the only secure and environmentally sound way to dispose of unwanted pharmaceuticals without contaminating surface and ground waters.

Started in the mid-2010s, the take-back programs spread fast to keep up with the prescription drug abuse epidemic that kills thousands and thousands of people annually in the United States. The effort picked up steam when the Drug Enforcement Administration organized the National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in September 2010, April 2011, and again this past August. Nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation have participated in these events, collecting more than 309 tons of pills.

Another national take-back day is planned for October 29. Check the website of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Days (www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov) to find upcoming events in your area.

Unfortunately, many communities still don’t have permanent programs to properly dispose of waste medications. As a result, many consumers keep prescribed drugs in their medicine cabinets and other places for a long time, not knowing how to get rid of them properly.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the following steps need to be taken to dispose of unused medication:

• Follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information specifically instructs you to do so.

• If no instructions are given on the drug label and no take-back program is available in your area, throw the drugs in the household trash, but first:

  --Take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash.

-- Put them in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.

Hopefully, it won’t be too long before take-back programs reach most corners of the country.  This will address the real concern that teens could misuse these very accessible drugs.

Until that happens, let’s all make sure we clean out the medicine cabinets and get potentially dangerous leftover drugs out of our homes.

Karen H. Perry is the executive director of NOPE Task Force.