Community Corner

Lorain County llegal Prescription Drug Abuse At an All-time High

New group looks to combat problem.

Illegal prescription drug abuse in Lorain County is at an all-time high. The effects of it can be seen in the increase of crime from break-ins, violence, and drug-related arrests and overdoses.

There’s solution to help all of us. It’s called SOLACE, which stands for “Surviving Our Losses and Continuing Everyday.”

The word solace means to seek comfort. That’s exactly what Jo Anna Krohn, of Portsmouth, OH did after her 18-year-old son died as a result of prescription drug abuse. She and other Scioto County mothers formed the first support group, and began to educate people about this growing epidemic; they shut down all the pill mills in Scioto County, which was called ground zero of the growing epidemic.

SOLACE seeks to end the crisis of substance abuse, specifically prescription and opiate addiction by providing support to individuals and families affected by the addiction. They advocate for policy changes that can change environmental conditions that encourage drug use.

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On April 2, I attending a SOLACE meeting held at the Gathering Hope House in Lorain, where Jo Anna and other SOLACE members from Scioto County shared their stories about loss and forming the group to grieve and fight back.

This was the first SOLACE meeting in our area and it was nice to see representatives from the Amherst Police department, Amherst High School, Junior High School and Amherst Elementary school, too. Several people from other community organizations attended and included some working in health care. There were also several concerned parents and young adults from various places in Lorain County.

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This was a great first step to address Lorain County’s prescription drug abuse problem. Police are seeing an increase in crime directly or indirectly caused by the growing epidemic. Prescription medications, when used properly, serve a purpose. But they are too readily available - as close as your medicine cabinet in your home. Many of us think they’re safe to take because they are prescribed. Most times they are being mixed with alcohol and other drugs creating a combination referred to as cocktails and unfortunately these can be lethal.

Some of the drugs being abused: opioids/pain relievers such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, opana, morphine, fentanyl; more common brand names are: Vicodin, Lorcet, Dilaudid, OxyContin, MS-Contin, Sublimaze. Among the tranquilizers are Valium and Xanax; stimulants such as Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin; and cough medicine containing dextromethorphan (DXM); sleep aids such as Tylenol PM; and motion sickness pills such as Dramamine.

If you have these in your home or know of an elderly person who does, please keep them locked up and out of the reach of our children and young adults. The average age for children to experiment with prescription drugs is 12! Again, used properly, medications can alleviate pain and help those with attention deficit disorder and other medical conditions. But they are also easily abused.

If you are interested in attending the next SOLACE meeting you can check the website for Communities that Care of Lorain County, www.ctcloraincounty.org or you can contact Catherine Gabe with CTC of Lorain County at 440-282-9920 or cgabe@lorainadas.org

If we are going to win this battle we have to pull together as one strong community/county.


Linda J. Calhoun
Amherst


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