Forum 20 Feature: Rx and Over-the-Counter Medicine Abuse Major Topics at CADCA Forum

With the escalating rates of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicine abuse affecting communities nationwide, this issue will be one of the featured topics at CADCA's National Leadership Forum next month. Several workshops will address everything from prescription take back programs to media campaigns to raise awareness of over-the-counter cough medicine abuse.

One of the workshops, entitled Embracing the Culture of Collaboration: Operation Medicine Cabinet New Jersey, will explore New Jersey’s successful medicine disposal initiative – the first in the nation to be statewide. Known as Operation Medicine Cabinet New Jersey, the event brought together 450 law enforcement, business, prevention and treatment organizations, resulting in the collection of 9,500 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter medicine.

During the workshop, participants will learn how to establish a take back program and how to take the program to scale in their state. Presenters for the workshop will include Douglas Collier, Drug Enforcement Administration; Angelo Valente & Angela Conover, Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey; and Angela Conover, Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.

Other Forum workshops that will address prescription and OTC medicine abuse include:

A Dose of Prevention: Engaging the Community to Prevent Medicine Abuse
Presenters: Elizabeth Funderburk, CHPA; Misty Fetko, Five Moms; Wayne Frith, Substance Abuse Free Environment
Description: While illicit drug use has declined over the past decade, teens also turn to OTC and prescription medicines to get high. In fact, an estimated one in ten teens reports having abused OTC cough medicines to get high; and one in five teens report having abused a prescription drug to get high. During this workshop, learn how to engage stakeholders in your community to address medicine abuse. You’ll hear from a nurse who lost a child to a lethal mix of OTC cough medicine and a prescription narcotic and how she engages parents, and from a coalition leader from Richmond, VA who launched a communitywide effort to tackle this problem. You’ll also get an in-depth look at the dangers of abusing OTC cough medicine and learn about free tools developed by CADCA and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association to help you educate your community about cough medicine abuse.

Prescription for Disaster: Preventing Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse in Your Community
Presenters: Dana Stevens & Enrique De La Cruz, Communities Against Substance Abuse
Description: This intermediate-level workshop is designed to assist coalitions in developing and implementing a strategic plan to prevent prescription and OTC drug abuse at the community level. The workshop is designed using the SPF and media advocacy. Participants will leave with a community action toolkit with sample materials for both youth-led components and adult-focused components.

Prescription Drug Misuse, Abuse and Diversion
Presenters: Sean Belouin, Pharm.D., Area/Regional Pharmacy Consultant, SAMHSA/CSAP; Ron Flegel, M.S., BSMT (ASCP), Forensic Toxicologist, Div. of Workplace Programs, SAMHSA/CSAP; Greg Goldstein,
M.P.H., Sr. Public Health Advisor, Immediate Office of the Asst. Secretary for Health, DHHS; Jennifer Solomon, Public Health Advisor, Div. of Systems Development, SAMHSA/CSAP
This roundtable discussion will discuss prescription drug trending for opioids and pharmacy point-of-sale program to address prescription drug misuse, abuse and storing in the home; the pros and cons of prescription drug testing; the perspective of the Surgeon General on prescription drugs and an overview of other Federal agency efforts to address this issue; and older adults and prescription drug abuse. NOTE: This workshop will take place on Monday, Feb. 8, during Community Prevention Day at the Forum.

CADCA’s 20th Annual National Leadership Forum is the nation's largest training event for substance abuse prevention, treatment professionals and researchers, featuring more than 100 workshops to help community and state leaders prevent and reduce substance abuse and its related problems. The Forum will take place at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center, just minutes outside Washington, D.C., on Feb. 8-11, 2010. This year's theme, “Coalitions At Work: Restoring Communities,” focuses on what community coalitions do best—mobilize communities and implement evidence-based practices.

Click here to view the full workshop grid. Register now!.