GAINESVILLE - The Drug Free Coalition of Hall County plans a community presentation later this month on the dangers of prescription drug abuse, while kicking off a 12-month program addressing the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse in Hall County and the state.
"The Story of Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction" will be presented Tuesday, Sept. 27, from 6:00-8:30 in the Walters Auditorium at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. The keynote speaker will be Merrill A. Norton, Pharm. D., D.Ph., ICCDP-D, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy.
The year-long campaign that begins that night will be conducted in partnership with the Medical Association of Georgia Foundation, according to JP Banks, Executive Director of the Drug Free Coalition of Hall County.
"Having served as the president of the Medical Association of Georgia, I know firsthand that prescription drug abuse has evolved into an epidemic problem in the state and in Hall County," says Jack M. Chapman Jr., M.D., an opthalmologist with Gainesville Eye Clinics. "The kick-off of the Prescription Drug Abuse Project in Hall County will serve as an excellent platform for raising awareness in the community."
Persons are asked to register on the Coalition's website - www.faceitpeople.org. The Northeast Georgia Medical Center is providing a light dinner for those registered. Banks encourages parents, medical and business professionals, teachers, law enforcement professionals, government and court staff, civic groups, youth serving organizations, faith-based organizations, and members of the general public to attend.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded 2010 Monitoring the Future Study showed that 2.7% of 8th graders, 7.7% of 10th graders, and 8.0% of 12th graders had abused Vicodin and 2.1% of 8th graders, 4.6% of 10th graders, and 5.1% of 12th graders had abused OxyContin for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. Source: Monitoring the Future (University of Michigan Web Site).
The Georgia Student Health Survey II, administered in October 2010, indicated that 12.82% of 10th graders in the Hall County Schools, and 7.89% of 10th graders in the Gainesville City Schools, reported using prescription drugs not prescribed to them. In comparison, only 5.60% of 10th graders in the state of Georgia reported using prescription drugs not prescribed to them.
A brief video featuring key members of the community will be premiered at the beginning of the event. Persons featured in the video are:
"David N Westfall, MD, MPH, CPE, District 2 Public Health Director;
"Stephanie Woodard, Hall County Solicitor-General;
"Lt. Scott Ware, Hall County Sheriff's Office;
"Kevin Bales, Principal - East Hall Middle School;
"Shelley Davis, Drugs Don't Work Coordinator, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce;
"Betty Guilfoile, LMFT, Regional Director, Avita Community Partners;
"Cleveland Brown, R.Ph., Owner, Corner Drugs; and
"Jeff Black, MD, Medical Director, Laurelwood / Northeast Georgia Physicians Group Psychiatry
"There seems to be a misconception that prescription drugs are safer than "street drugs", and therefore people are more willing to "try" them - even though they may have been prescribed for someone else for a legitimate reason. We need to help people understand that prescription drugs, taken for the wrong reason and by the wrong person, can have very serious - even fatal - consequences," Dr. Westfall said.
Betty Guilfoile, Regional Director of Avita Community Partners states that within their treatment programs said "Young people are reporting significant use and abuse of prescription drug and over the counter drug use as well, specifically, cough and cold medicines. It is not uncommon for a young person to purchase a box of antihistamine tablets and take them all at the same time."
For more information, contact JP Banks, Project Coordinator, at 770-534-1080 x 277, or by email at [email protected].
Friday
July 4th, 2025
2:09PM
