Regional Support Center Information Page

March 13, 2008 by admin.

Welcome to the new Regional Support Center information post.

      Who Knew Grandma Kept a Stash!

70% of all people who abuse prescription pain relievers got them from friends or relatives. Talk to your kids about prescription drug abuse!

                                           Learn how to at www.myaa.org 

Prescription TAke Back Day Set- April 17, 2010

The Counselors Who Care of Dunklin, New Madrid and Pemiscot Counties 2000 Coalition (C.W.C.) along with Family Counseling Center’s Regional Support Center Prevention Program and the Boothill Drug Task Force will host a DEA approved Prescription TAke Back Day  on April 17, 2010 at Harris Pharmacy in Kennett, MO from 8am to 12pm.

This event presents local residents a proper way to dispose of their unused or expired medications. This will be a no questions asked take back and all prescription medications will be accepted by the DEA approved Drug Task Force Agent. Following regulation by the Drug Enforcement Agency, Bootheel Drug Task Force and other law enforcement officials will be on site to immediately take possession of any medications collected and will be disposed of according to their policy and procedure. With the abuse of prescription drugs gaining ground, the collaborators are offering this safe way to dispose of medications. This event will be heavily marketed among the three counties and especially within the subgroups of school systems and parents of school children. Each team member will receive information materials regarding prescription drug abuse and safe disposal techniques to educate their community members. School counselors will be encouraged to provide a lesson regarding prescription drug abuse and safe disposal around the time of the take back day. Materials received from ACT Missouri and the Missouri Youth Adult Alliance (MYAA) will be distributed not only throughout the months of February, March and April to schools and nursing facilities but also to local pharmacies as a way to increase prescription drug abuse knowledge to community members.  

Evaluation of this take back will also be done in order to show the success of this event. Each event site will keep a record of how many disposed of medications and if possible types of prescription drugs collected and total number of pills collected. This information will be available after the event. It is very important to each of the collaborative partners that everyone know this is an entirely “no questions asked” event, absolutely no personal information will be taken at any time before, during or after the take back day.

• Abuse of medicines has risen, according to the nation’s largest substance use assessment, the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.  
• Many do not realize that medicines can be just as dangerous and addictive as street drugs when they are misused. Medicine is especially harmful when it is taken in high doses or mixed with alcohol or other drugs. In 2006, 49% of all drug-related ER visits involved pharmaceuticals (Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2006).
• Teens abuse prescription drugs more than any illicit drug except for marijuana, according to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (www.theantidrug.org).

What drugs are being abused?

• The most commonly abused prescription medications are painkillers, like OxyContin or Vicodin. These narcotics are highly addictive. They can easily lead to overdoes when crushed and snorted or mixed  with other drugs, such as alcohol.
• Depressants, such as Valium or Xanax, are also commonly abused. They are addictive and can be deadly when used in combination with prescription pain medications, some over-the-counter (OTC) cold and allergy drugs, or alcohol.
• Stimulants, like Ritalin and Adderall, are being abused by many young people, especially by students who use them as a study aid. These addictive drugs can lead to serious mental and physical health problems.
• Some OTC medications, such as cough medications containing dextromethorphan, are also abused by teenagers and can ause serious side effects, coma, or death when taken in high doses.

What can we do?

SECURE AND MONITOR YOUR MEDICATIONS! Use pill boxes or request blister packs so that you can keep track of your medications. Make sure they are kept in a secure place that is not obvious or easily accessible to people who may visit your home.

DISPOSE PROPERLY OF OLD OR UNUSED MEDICATIONS. by crushing them and mixing them with coffee grounds, sawdust or kitty litter before placing them in a zipper sealed bag in the trash. This will make them unusable by others and keep them out of our groundwater. Encourage other friends, family and grandparents to clean out their medicine cabinets too.

Find out about a Take-Back program in your community.

And of course….

Talk to your teens about RX/OTC Drug Abuse!

For more inforamtion visit: www.notinmyhouse.com, www.theantidrug.org, www.doseofprevention.org, www.dxmstories.com, www.goodmedicinebadbehavior.org, www.myaa.org

Community Town Hall Meetings To Be Set Soon

Social marketing efforts at building knowledge of adolescent risky behaviors is underway. We would like to aim to establish an understanding that adolescentsw do need communication and guidelines set by their guardians and rid the belief that “kids will be kids”. We will focus on behaviors and ideas of parenting and will call on parents to accept an amount of responsibility to the community by being familar with all activities and influences that their adolescents are involved in.

*Check back with us soon as we will have the dates, times and locations of these Town Hall meetings listed soon. There will be one set in each of the counties of Dunklin, Pemiscot, New Madrid and Mississippi.*

Meetings will be sponsored by the Regional Support Center at Family Counseling Center, Inc and the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

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