SAFE Glen Cove Coalition Hosts Opioid Prevention Presentation

On June 4th Retired Nassau County Police Department Detective Pam Stark /Account Development Representative for Seafield Center visited the senior class at Glen Cove High School to deliver an important message about prescription opioid drug misuse and abuse entitled “Opiate Evolution to the Perfect Storm.”

The program addressed the dangers of opiate abuse and the alarming trends that indicate an increase in the incidence of opiate related admissions to Seafield Center and other inpatient treatment facilities, emergency room visits and fatal overdoses. Retired Detective Stark discussed warning signs and dangers associated with substance abuse. She addressed the increasing potency of street drugs today and warned students that drugs including marijuana are often laced with other substances including heroin or fentanyl in order to “hook” the consumer. “Last year we lost more people to opioid overdoses than Vietnam.”

Retired Detective Stark stated that “most street drugs were once or are still available by prescription or over the counter.” Historically, heroin was created by Bayer, the makers of Aspirin- and was used to treat whooping cough in the early 1900’s causing addiction and subsequent removal from the shelves causing addicted individuals to seek relief illegally. This trend has continued into the twenty-first century via the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Prescription Monitoring Program (I-STOP).

Students were exposed to real life cases including one unlikely couple addicted to prescription opioids who were involved in the robbery and deaths of four individuals at a Pharmacy. Retired Detective Stark sought to show students the real life and potentially fatal dangers associated with substance use. She encouraged students to seek medical assistance in cases where a potential over dose is suspected without fear of arrest under the Good Samaritan Law.

The SAFE Glen Cove Coalition is conducting an opioid prevention awareness campaign entitled "Keeping Glen Cove SAFE" to educate and update the community regarding the risks opioid use and its consequences. Education and raising awareness among youth and community members are key to preventing future use and overdoses. The Coalition encourages the community to become educated on resources available to family members or individuals’ struggling with opioid addiction by visiting the Opioid Awareness page on the SAFE website at www.safeglencove.org, or follow us on: www.facebook.com/safeglencovecoalition.