Blog
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Resources Help Parents and Students Understand Dangers of Drug Use at College
It’s hard to believe, but my oldest daughter already returned to Providence College for her sophomore year. I know I’m not alone among parents who will be watching their children either return to school or embark upon their continuing education for the first time as freshmen.
College can be an overwhelming time for children and parents alike as students adjust to a new environment and new challenges. The presence of drugs can further complicate that transition.
Young people (ages 18 to 24) are already at a heightened risk of addiction, and the combination of stress, heavy workloads, peer pressure, curiosity and other factors only amplifies that risk.
Fortunately, there are valuable resources that can help both parents and students understand the dangers of drug use and the ways to prevent abuse for teens heading off to college.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey delivers relevant information for parents at ParentCheckNJ.Com, a website that features a quiz for parents to test their knowledge on both binge drinking and opioid misuse.
Another resource available is the new website, CampusDrugPrevention.gov, launched by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) focusing on preventing and educating on college drug use.
The DEA created the website in its latest effort to support drug abuse prevention programs on college campuses and their surrounding communities. The website offers a one-stop resource for professionals including educators, student health centers and student affairs personnel, who work to prevent drug abuse among college students. It also is beneficial to college students, parents and others involved in campus communities.
CampusDrugPrevention.gov offers valuable information, including data, news updates, drug scheduling and penalties, publications, research, national and statewide conferences and events, state and local prevention contacts, and resources available from DEA’s federal partners. The website also includes a “Help a Friend” resource to educate and prepare those who plan to talk to friends or loved ones about drug use concerns.
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Training Sessions for Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day to be Held in August
Today, President Trump declared opioid abuse a national emergency.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is continuing its efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, most notably through the second annual Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day being held on October 6th.
Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day is a project of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, in cooperation with the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Addiction Services; and the Community Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Morris.
The single-day initiative, held in communities throughout the state, will mobilize families, members of the prevention and treatment communities, community leaders and concerned citizens to raise awareness of the potential for dependency on prescribed pain medicine and the link to heroin abuse rates in New Jersey. The effort will focus on both informing physicians and raising awareness among New Jersey residents.
Last year’s event (then called Knock Out Opiate Abuse Day) achieved great success as more than 2,000 volunteers statewide delivered important messages on opioid abuse prevention to healthcare providers and to residents in their communities.
The initiative earned statewide acclaim, as the Senate and General Assembly passed a joint resolution declaring October 6 as Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day in New Jersey in perpetuity.
PDFNJ will be at the CDC’s 2017 National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media, next week, sharing the success of the 2016 Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day.
Following this week’s release of a report showing that overdoses have hit a record high, with mortality rates 24 percent higher for opioid overdoses and 22 percent higher for heroin overdoses than previous reports, we all have to work together to stem this epidemic.
I invite and encourage you to participate in the 2017 Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day. Sign up today to be connected with the volunteer coordinator in your community, or attend a volunteer training that will be held over the next few weeks, in Morris County on August 15, and in Gloucester County on August 30.
Sign up today to be part of the solution to knock out opioid abuse in New Jersey.
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National Opioid Commission Recommendations Mirror Work Already Being Done by PDFNJ
The Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis delivered an interim report to President Trump earlier this week, urging him to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency.
With an average of 142 Americans dying every day from opioid overdoses, the commission, headed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, argued that such an action would open up avenues to more effectively combat the issue.
The report also included several other recommendations for stemming the opioid crisis, some of which are currently being carried out through the work of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.
One of the recommendations focuses on further educating prescribers, stating, “Mandate prescriber education initiatives with the assistance of medical and dental schools across the country to enhance prevention efforts.… HHS should work with partners to ensure additional training opportunities, including continuing education courses for professionals.”
The report cites the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which estimates that, not including federal prescribers who are required to be trained, fewer than 20 percent of the more than 1 million prescribers in the United States licensed to prescribe controlled substances have been trained on how to write prescriptions for opioids.
PDFNJ has been active in efforts to change prescribing habits since 2013, when it began its Do No Harm symposium series informing prescribers on the dangers of prescribing opioids and the links to heroin abuse. Of the nearly 4,000 prescribers who have attended one of the symposiums, 95 percent said they intend to make opioid prescribing changes or what they learned at the Do No Harm event to their practice.
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New Law Informs Athletes’ Parents on Dangers of Opioids
The state of New Jersey recently passed a new law that requires school districts and private schools offering interscholastic sports or cheerleading competitions to provide information on the dangers of opioid prescription drug use to parents and guardians every year.
The legislation is an important step in helping parents make the best decisions for their children when they potentially could be prescribed an opioid. It is crucial that they understand that opioid painkillers can be highly addictive and that there are other alternatives to managing pain caused by sports injuries.
Student athletes are a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to opioid misuse. Studies show that male athletes are twice as likely as the general population to be prescribed prescription painkillers and four times more likely to abuse them.
There is also a link between prescribed painkillers and heroin abuse, as nearly half of young people who inject heroin reported abusing prescription opioids before using heroin. Research by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey has found that nearly a third of parents with middle school children are unaware of that link.
The Partnership has worked and will continue to work with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and other partners, including the Garden State Pharmacy Owners, to collaborate on ways to better inform parents of the dangers prescription opioids can present to their student athletes.
The Partnership also has begun spreading the word about the dangers of opioid abuse through the second annual Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day, which will be held Oct. 6. The first training session for the event was held via webinar on Wednesday.
The statewide single-day initiative will mobilize families, members of the prevention and treatment communities, community leaders and concerned citizens to raise awareness of the potential for dependency on prescribed pain medicine and its link to heroin abuse rates in our state. The effort will have a dual focus: educating physicians and raising awareness among New Jersey citizens and families.
Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day is a project of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, in cooperation with the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Addiction Services; and the Community Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Morris, with thousands of volunteers across the state.
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Reel in Some Summer Fun in PDFNJ’s Don’t Get Hooked on Drugs Fishing Tournament
It’s the middle of July, and children’s initial excitement at the dawn of summer possibly has dissipated as we approach the dog days of the season.
With more free time on their hands, children are more vulnerable and sometimes make poor decisions, which increases the importance of enjoying fun summertime activities as a family.
Kids who communicate regularly with their parents about their daily activities are 67 percent less likely to be involved in substance abuse than children who have little or no communication, according to research conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.
PDFNJ’s Third Annual Don’t Get Hooked on Drugs Online NJ Family Fishing Tournament is a perfect activity to keep children engaged while also spending valuable time together as a family.
To participate in the contest being held Aug. 4-13, entrants must be 18 years old or younger, New Jersey residents and be accompanied by a parent or guardian while fishing. Participants then have to snap a photo of their family enjoying a fishing trip and post it with the hashtag #drugfreenj. The photo must include the youth participant and a parent or guardian.
Pictures can be posted by liking PDFNJ’s Facebook page at PartnershipForADrugFreeNewJersey or by following PDFNJ on Twitter (@drugfreenj) and Instagram (@drugfreenj).
All entries must be submitted no later than Aug. 13. Winners will be selected at random on Aug. 17 and will be eligible to win up to $600 in cash prizes.
Take advantage of the warm weather and head to the nearest lake, river or ocean to share a memorable family moment.
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CDC Report Finds Mixed Results for Opioid Prescribing in New Jersey Counties
Since the opioid crisis began to grip New Jersey and our nation, one of the crucial goals in stemming the tide of addiction was addressing the overprescribing of pain medication. The good news is that the number of opioid prescriptions decreased nationwide from 2010 to 2015. The bad news is that doctors gave out longer prescriptions and the average strength of prescriptions was still high, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released last week.
The report also revealed that the number of prescriptions in parts of New Jersey remained high. An NJ.com report detailed the disparity in prescriptions written across the state’s 21 counties.
While the rate of prescriptions per person dropped in 10 counties from 2010 to 2015, it increased in nine counties and did not change in two others, the report said. The totals are measured in “morphine milligram equivalents,” or MME, “which measures the total dosage of opioids while correcting for differing strengths among different drugs.”
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Operation Prevention Provides Valuable Drug-Free Education Resources
We are pleased to share this week’s blog with Joanna Mlicka-Anderko, Demand Reduction Coordinator for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Jersey Division and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Discovery Education have joined forces to combat the growing epidemic of prescription opioid misuse and heroin use nationwide. Operation Prevention’s mission is to educate students about the true impacts of opioids and kick-start lifesaving conversations in the home and classroom. The initiative offers the following expanded collection of no-cost resources for elementary, middle and high school students, teachers and parents:
• Digital Classroom Lessons
Classroom-ready interactive lessons aligned to national health and science standards
• Parent Toolkit
Family discussion guide, which provides information on the warning signs of opioid misuse and a guide to prevention and intervention
• Video Challenge
Encourages students to send a message to their peers about the dangers of prescription opioid misuse by creating a 30-to-60-second original Public Service Announcement for a chance to win a scholarship
• On Demand Virtual Field Trip
Leading experts, including DEA agents and pharmacologists, provide facts on drugs and addiction
All materials are online at www.operationprevention.com in English and Spanish and are updated every year for content. For more information, please contact Demand Reduction Specialist Joanna Anderko at janderko@nynjhidta.org.
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New Jersey Joins Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers
States across the country have begun examining the degree of blame that should be placed on drug manufacturers for the opioid epidemic gripping the nation.
On the heels of a lawsuit brought by Ohio Attorney General Michael DeWine against five pharmaceutical companies, a group of attorneys general from several states in mid-June launched an inquiry into the marketing of pain medications and whether it fueled the opioid crisis, which has been at epidemic levels for the past five years.
In 2015, opioids took the lives of more than 33,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The death toll in New Jersey for 2015 was 1,600, or four times the number of people murdered in the state that year.
New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino recently said that he will take part in the inquiry, joining his colleagues from states including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Vermont. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery has taken the lead role in the investigation.
PDFNJ continues to play a crucial role in fighting the opioid crisis, most notably by launching its Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall Series this spring. We also have enlisted Dr. Andrew Kolodny, director of Physicians for Responsible Opiate Prescribing (PROP), to speak out on the problem. Dr. Kolodny recently appeared in an interview segment on the PBS program “Democracy Now!” and was critical of both the current and previous political administrations for doing little to combat the crisis.
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Welcome Summer!
Summer has arrived! Summer is my favorite season, as the warm weather brings with it the opportunity to relax, take time for activities and enjoy added time with family and friends. PDFNJ research shows that kids who communicate regularly with their parents about their daily activities are 67% less likely to be involved in substance abuse. Throughout the summer, PDFNJ continues to offer a variety of resources for families to utilize.
Parents can find out additional information on current trends at TalkNowNJ.Com, or take an interactive quiz to test their knowledge on the impact of underage drinking and the opioid abuse crisis at ParentCheckNJ.Com. We will also host a series of webinars on all of these topics:
Date Time
- Tuesday, 6/27/17 11:30 AM
- Tuesday, 6/27/17 1:00 PM
- Wednesday, 6/28/17 11:30 AM
- Wednesday, 6/28/17 1:00 PM
All webinars are open to the public to participate in by registering here.
Wishing you a wonderful summer season!
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Governor Christie Speaks at PDFNJ's Do No Harm Symposium
The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, Monday, held the 20th Do No Harm Safer Prescribing Symposium, a program of PDFNJ, DEA-NJ, and HIDTA. Prosecutor Fredric Knapp and the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Morris, along with Morris County Sheriff James Gannon coordinated this program with PDFNJ to educate prescribers in the county, both at Saint Clare’s Health System and Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center.
Governor Chris Christie, who has made the opioid epidemic a priority for his administration, provided a keynote address to attendees about the importance of safer prescribing, prevention, and treatment, as well as strategies to address this epidemic and support those in recovery. Working together is the only way we are going to make inroads in reducing the numbers afflicted by this epidemic.
I thank all of those who attended, our partners on this program, and Governor Christie for his leadership on this issue.
Video of Governor Christie's speech and photos available by clicking read more.