In an effort to curb the growing national opioid and heroin epidemic, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has launched an educational program for middle- and high-school students called “Operation Prevention.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 78 people die every day in the U.S. because of prescription opioid overdose. Prescription opioid abuse often leads to heroin use, which has more than doubled among young adults ages 18-25 in the past decade. The DEA states the epidemic cuts across lines of age, race, gender and wealth, afflicting cities as well as suburbs and rural towns.
The DEA worked with Discovery Education, a provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, to create a program for students, educators and parents. Operation Prevention teaches students about the science behind addiction and its impact. The program includes resources that help initiate lifesaving conversations in the home and classroom.
The program is available at no-cost and offers standards-based, classroom resources including digital lesson plans and a parent toolkit that provides information on the warning signs of substance misuse disorder and a guide to prevention and intervention.
Classroom resources include digital lesson plans and a parent toolkit that offers information on the warning signs of substance misuse disorder and a guide to prevention and intervention. In December, a student video challenge will also launch.
The California State Board of Pharmacy supports the DEA’s efforts to educate youth on opioid addiction.
The Board of Pharmacy has been proactive in combating the opioid epidemic by disciplining the licenses of pharmacists who do not demonstrate corresponding responsibility in the furnishing of opioid medications. Corresponding responsibility means that pharmacists have the responsibility to look for red flags that could indicate an opioid prescription may not be appropriate for the patient and may indicate fraudulent activity. The board has also closed pharmacies which indiscriminately dispensed opioids.
Recently, the board enacted emergency regulations to allow pharmacists to furnish naloxone without a prescription. Naloxone is an emergency rescue drug that reverses the effects of an opioid or heroin overdose.
For more information on prescription drug abuse prevention, visit the Board of Pharmacy website here.
For more information on Operation Prevention and access to the program’s free resources, go here.
