Student Drug Awareness Videos Shown at Town Hall

Eight student-produced videos which tackled the topic of "Prescription Drug Abuse in our Community” were shown Tuesday night before the Town Hall Meeting on Teen Prescription Drug Abuse at .

Each video took a different angle to tackle the serious topic in each 30-second video.

A panel of judges, including St. Clair Shores Mayor Kip Walby, Police Chief Police Chief Michael Walleman, Robin Barr, Sasha Walker and Patch editor Edward Cardenas, voted on the videos. Those scores were combined with voting on the SNAP Facebook page to determine the winners.

The best middle school videos were:

• First place: "Keep a Lid on It" by Nina Tringali from .
• Second place: "It Only Takes One" by Kyle Scott, Payton Tallman and Sky Boren from .
• Honorable mention: "Do You Know What Truly Makes You Happy" by Alexis Brown, Abbie Sand and Terese Feldpausch from Jefferson Middle School.

The best high school videos were:

• First place: "Tumbling Accident" by Deanna Hohn from Lakeview High School.
• Second place: "Prescription Drug Abuse" by Enea Ruci, Billy Frattini and Mark Powell from Lakeview High School.
• Honorable mention: "Outcomes of Prescription Drugs in School" by Maurice Davis, Carly Burke and Geno Greer from Lakeview High School.

In addition to showing the videos, attendees heard from Cody Smare, who was was a soccer player who played at the international level and became addicted to painkillers.

Dr. Mark Menestrina, a National Field Medical Advisor for Reckitt Becnkiser Pharmaceuticals and Medical Director of Southeast Michigan Community Alliance, also addressed attendees.

He addressed substance abuse in adults and children, and the importance of family intervention - and involvement - at young age to help keep kids from trying drugs and alcohol. And if they are using drugs, how saying something may lead them to seek treatment.

"You all have the capacity to make a difference and change," Menestrina said to the crowd. "It is all of our jobs."