Prescription Drug Abuse Town Hall

Submitted by ub on

There is a Town Hall Forum being held on prescription drug abuse, which dovetails nicely with the City Island drug problem often discussed at Civic Association meetings. Each spring Montefiore holds a public forum on a health-related topic of concern to the community.

These annual forums consist of panelists who are experts in the topic covered. They make presentations, field questions, and provide contact info for those who want help or more info on the topic.

The prescription drug problem has several facets that include over-prescribing opioid and other pain killers, which then sit in the medicine cabinet, attracting kids to use them for recreational purposes, as well as adults who use them for purposes for which they were not prescribed. In addition, intentional as well as unintentional abuse by senior citizens is much more prevalent than one would think. Useful information on recognizing the signs of, and dealing with, this problem across all age groups will be provided.

One topic Is the availability to the average person of an inject-able drug that counteracts the effects of opioid (i.e. heroin, Oxycontin, etc.) in the case of a potentially fatal overdose. It takes a short class to become certified to obtain, possess, and use when necessary, this inject-able, and information on becoming certified will be covered in the forum. Most of us are aware of the deaths in recent years of City Island youths due to opioid overdoses. If found in time, even if unconscious, they could have been saved by this injection.

Thursday, June 14 (next week).

Time 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Sign-in and refreshments begin at 3:00 PM).

Montefiore Medical Center’s Cherkasky Auditorium (just inside the Gun Hill Road entrance).