Massapequa Unites to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse

There's a deadly substance abuse epidemic that's on the rise among area youths, and the drugs can be found in your home.

That's the message Drug Free Massapequa put forward at their monthly meeting Tuesday night.

The non- profit group put out some disturbing information about prescription drug abuse to educate parents at a time when teens are gearing up for proms and graduation parties. 

Popping pills has joined alcohol and marijuana as popular choices for substance abuse, according to authorities.

Among the speakers were Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Teresa Corrigan, as well as Mark Wenzel, LMSW and Adrienne Lo Presti of  YES Community Counseling Center. 

Wenzel and Lo Presti attribute the rise in prescription drug abuse to their wide accessibility and low cost.  

"What is so scary about prescription drugs is that kids who aren't regularly drug abusers end up having access to someone else's prescription pill, which they end up getting from either a medicine cabinet or from a friend at a party," said Lo Presti. "If they end up taking something like a vicadin or oxycontin, that pill can end up taking their life."

Wenzel urged parents to take a proactive stance by knowing what their children are doing and who they're spending time with.

She also encouraged them to be mindful of the dangerous drugs that can be easily taken out of medicine cabinets.

"We have to start in the corners of our own world and that starts in our own homes," she said.  "It's no longer about just locking up your liquor cabinets; it's now locking up your medicine cabinets too."

Corrigan then presented  some statistics about the rise in prescription drug  abuse, comparing it to the well documented heroin epidemic in Nassau County.

She said that there were 168 countywide prescription drug related arrests in 2008, with the number jumping to 673 in 2009. There were 97 prescription drug related deaths in 2008 and 72 related deaths in 2009, a number that could still rise according to Corrigan. 

By comparison there were 211 heroin related arrests in 2008, 386 in 2009 and 200 as of April 22, of this year. Twenty six heroin related deaths were reported in 2008 and 38 have been documented so far for 2009.

"The number of overdose deaths from [prescription drug] pills is greatly outpacing the number of overdose deaths from heroin, which means children are leaving this earth before they even get to the heroin," she said.

Corrigan reminded parents about Nassau County's Social Host Law, which could put them in legal jeopardy if kids consume alcohol at parties. The law, which took effect in July 2007 calls for prosecution of party hosts ages 18 or over who have knowledge or reason to know that persons under the age of 21 have been consuming alcoholic beverages on their premises. 

But help is available, Corrigan said. People in Massapequa who are looking for support in protecting their children have a perfect resource readily available. "Get involved with Drug Free Massapequa. They have the information for you right here," she said. "You can't get more convenient than that."