By Patrick Lucas
Pharmacists Mable Tran and Jina Jung from the Consumer Value Store Pharmacy in Redondo Beach spoke in the small theater at an event called Not Prescribed during afternoon office hours on May 11 about the effects of prescription drug abuse on teenagers.
CVS Pharmecy created a nationwide initiative to ask its employees to volunteer at different high schools to inform them of the dangers of drug abuse. CVS started the presentations locally in February 2016 in the South Bay and Orange County, Tran said.
“I decided to go to the small theater because I think that it’s important to be informed on topics that could be affecting the people close to me,” junior Emma Nerad said. “I’m not sure that there is a drug problem at Costa, but the presentation taught me that anyone can become an abuser, and it is important to learn the skills to help people avoid that path at all costs.”
According to a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 52 million people in the United States have used prescription drugs non-medically in their lifetime. However, the institute’s studies have also shown that teaching students about the effects of drug abuse may help prevent teenagers from abusing prescription drugs in the future.
“This a program that CVS Pharmacy is providing to the communities nationwide because it is such a big problem,” Tran said. “We’re volunteering to reach out to the students. This is completely volunteer-based, and it’s kind of an afterthought that the students and current generation will be running the country some day, and we don’t want our future leaders to have these issues.”
During the presentation, the two volunteers played an 11-minute video for the audience. The video outlined the risks and science behind the misuse of prescription drugs in young adults. The video also described the life of four different teenagers and how their lives were negatively impacted due to drug abuse.
“For me, the video was definitely the most moving part of the presentation,” sophomore Shelby Seivert said. “Seeing the kids talk about the lives that have been touched by prescription drugs was really powerful, and I think that hearing these stories is really important because they aren’t just statistics but have a face.”
CVS Health, a health care company, elaborates its initiative is to address abuse and work with community leaders, policymakers, law enforcement, and healthcare professionals to educate teens on the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in the United States.
“Adderall is definitely being abused by kids in high school because they believe that it helps them to study and stay alert, but it’s very addictive, and it’s very dangerous,” Tran said.
Besides showing the video, Tran outlined the threats and realities of prescription drug use by reciting statistics and recognizing possible outcomes. She explains that prescription drugs pose a larger threat than illicit drugs.
“I was disappointed that more students didn’t show up,” Nerad said. “One of the most impactful moments was when we were informed that these drugs can be more addictive and lethal than many illicit drugs that you attribute overdoses to.”
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