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Message from
POLICE CHIEF KEN TRUVER
February 1, 2010
Dear residents and visitors to the CSPD webpage,
The Castle Shannon Police Department is a proud participant in the D.A.R.E. America Program.
D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.
Sergeant David Lane and Officer Gary Watkins have been teaching elementary school students about the dangers of drug abuse in Myrtle School and St. Anne’s school for years, and they are just finishing up the series for 2009-2010. Parents of the students in these programs are encouraged to engage their children in discussion about the classes, in order to learn more about their experience with D.A.R.E.
D.A.R.E. is organizing Rx/OTC Drug Abuse Awareness Week, February 22-28, 2010. This program is designed to curb one of the biggest drug abuse problems facing our youth today -the abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
According to a 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, SAMHSA, September 2007, today’s teens abuse prescription drugs to get high more than any illicit drug except marijuana. Other studies show that teens who abuse prescription drugs are far more likely to be using other substances as well.
Many teens think that because prescription drugs come from a pharmacy, they must be safe. This dangerous view is refuted when compared to statistics that show that from 2000 to 2010, deaths from prescription drug abuse exceeded those from cocaine and heroin overdoses combined.
What Parents Can Do:
- Talk to children about the dangers and possible consequences, including death
- Safeguard medications (locking them away is best) and alert relatives to do the same
- Carefully dispose of old or unused drugs
- http://drugs.about.com
How to Dispose of Prescription Drugs
Parents and caregivers are the first line of defense in addressing the troubling trend of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse. Take an inventory in your house and make sure you follow these guidelines for proper drug disposal:
- Take unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs out of their original containers and throw them in the trash.
- Mix prescription drugs with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter, and put them in containers, such as empty cans or sealable bags, to make sure the drugs aren't found and abused by someone else.
- Flush prescription drugs down the toilet only if the label specifically tells you to.
Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse
Think about your home. What prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs do you have? Where are they kept? Would you know if some were missing? The good news is that you can take steps immediately to limit access to these drugs and help keep your teen drug-free:
- Safeguard all drugs at home. Monitor quantities and control access. Take note of how many pills are in a bottle or pill packet, and keep track of refills. This goes for your own medication, as well as for your teen and other members of your household. If you find you have to refill medication more often than expected, there could be a real problem—someone may be taking your medication without your knowledge. If your teen has been prescribed a drug, be sure you control the medication, and monitor dosages and refills.
- Set clear rules for teens about all drug use, including not sharing medicine and always following the medical provider's advice and dosages. Make sure your teen uses prescription drugs only as directed by a medical provider and follows instructions for OTC products carefully. This includes taking the proper dosage and not using with other substances without a medical provider's approval. Teens should never take prescription or OTC drugs with street drugs or alcohol. If you have any questions about how to take a drug, call your family physician or pharmacist.
- Be a good role model by following these same rules with your own medicines. Examine your own behavior to ensure you set a good example. If you misuse your prescription drugs, such as share them with your kids, or abuse them, your teen will take notice. Avoid sharing your drugs and always follow your medical provider's instructions.
- Properly conceal and dispose of old or unused medicines in the trash. Unused prescription drugs should be hidden and thrown away in the trash. So that teens or others don't take them out of the trash, you can mix them with an undesirable substance (like used coffee grounds or kitty litter) and put the mixture in an empty can or bag. Unless the directions say otherwise, do NOT flush medications down the drain or toilet because the chemicals can pollute the water supply. Also, remove any personal, identifiable information from prescription bottles or pill packages before you throw them away.
- Ask friends and family to safeguard their prescription drugs as well. Make sure your friends and relatives, especially grandparents, know about the risks, too, and encourage them to regularly monitor their own medicine cabinets. If there are other households your teen has access to, talk to those families as well about the importance of safeguarding medications. If you don't know the parents of your child's friends, then make an effort to get to know them, and get on the same page about rules and expectations for use of all drugs, including alcohol and illicit drugs. Follow up with your teen's school administration to find out what they are doing to address issues of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse in schools.
- Talk to your teen about the dangers of abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs. These are powerful drugs that, when abused, can be just as dangerous as street drugs. Tell your teen the risks far outweigh any "benefits."
Visit these websites for additional information and resources
www.WhiteHouseDrugPolicy.gov
www.TheAntiDrug.com
PARENTS, The Anti Drug
Kenneth M. Truver
Chief of Police
Castle Shannon Borough
3310 McRoberts Rd
Castle Shannon, Pa 15234
(412) 885-9300 x110
(412) 885-9252 FAX
ktruver@csboro.com
Please Click Here for the January 2010 Report
Please Click Here for the December 2009 Report
Please Click Here for the November 2009 Report
Click Here for the October 2009 Report
Click Here for the September 2009 Report
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