Good Medicine ­Bad Behavior – Prescription (Rx) (OTC) Town Hall Meeting April 14th

March 19, 2008
Teenagers Abusing Prescription (Rx) and Over©the©Counter (OTC) Drugs at an Increasing Rate
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA © Due to growing concerns about the dangers and increasing cases of teenagers
abusing prescription and over©the©counter drugs, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence ¨C
Orange County/Community Alliance Network along with Tesoro High School PTSA are hosting a Town Hall
Meeting called Good Medicine¡­Bad Behavior.
According to the 2008 Monitoring the Future Survey, seven of the top ten drugs abused by 12th graders in the past
year were prescription/over the counter drugs RX/OTC drugs. Prescription drug abuse is second to marijuana, as
reported by teens.
There has been an increase in unintentional deaths involving painkiller and psychotherapeutic drug abuse.
Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Orange County is no exception to
this trend. From 2005 to 2007, more youth (42) between the ages of 12 to 25 died of an accidental overdose
caused by prescription or over©the©counter drugs than those who died as a result of accidental overdoses caused
by illicit drugs (38).
¡°Unfortunately, many teens are abusing these drugs to get high or for other effects. Teens say they are abusing
prescription and OTC drugs because they are easy to get. They think this is a safe way to get high, when in fact,
these drugs can be just as risky as street drugs,¡± said Phillip Falcetti, CEO of the National Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence ¨C Orange County.
Participants at the Town Hall Meeting will learn about the dangers of prescription and over©the©counter drug
abuse. Parents and adults will learn about this new and emerging drug trend including warning signs of abuse,
slang terms, and prevention techniques. Youth participants will learn that Rx/OTC drugs are just as dangerous as
illicit drugs and they will have the opportunity to participate in creating an awareness prevention campaign to
reach other students. The Town Hall Meeting will include resource tables and information to take home.
WHAT: Good Medicine¡­Bad Behavior
Prescription (Rx) and Over©the©Counter (OTC) Town Hall Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 ¨C 6:30©8:00pm
WHERE: Tesoro High School
1 Tesoro Creek Road
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
For more information on the event, please contact Terah Glass at 949.595.2288 x318 or tglass@canoc.org.