Drug Prevention Forum at Sarasota High Thursday Night

The Sarasota County School District is working with the County Sheriff’s Office, Coastal Behavioral Healthcare and First Step of Sarasota to present a prescription drug abuse prevention forum at the Sarasota High School Auditorium on Sept. 22 from 6-7:30 p.m. 

According to the district, the 2011 forum will be the third annual event designed to improve community awareness of a tragedy in the Sarasota area: an unusually high number of deaths among young adults resulting from prescription drug overdoses. 

The centerpiece of the forum will be a panel discussion among behavioral health, law enforcement and pharmaceutical experts regarding the nationwide dramatic increase in prescription drug abuse in recent years. Panel members will discuss how to recognize warning signs and how to respond if loved ones are abusing prescription drugs, the news release said. 

The event also will include a testimonial from a teen and a mother who have experience with prescription drug abuse. Audience members will be invited to ask questions and participate in the discussion.