“Good Drugs Gone Bad”
Nov. 30, 2010
6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
North High School
Jesse Hooper Auditorium
“Armed robber hits pharmacy”; “Resident hospitalized in home invasion”; “20 year old dies from overdose”…….these are recent headlines from Northeast Wisconsin, all with one thing in common….prescription drugs.
National studies have identified a growing concern regarding the use of prescription and over the counter drugs to get high. Pharmaceuticals currently rank as the third most abused drug behind alcohol and marijuana. In the past year, there were 36 drug related deaths in the Fox Valley. Twenty seven of these were the result of the abuse of pharmaceuticals. In addition, 46% of all drug related emergency room visits were pharmaceutical related.
According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey taken last spring by Oshkosh high school students, 26.7% said they had taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription at least one time. In the last year we have seen an increase in the number of juveniles in Winnebago County being charged with drug and alcohol related violations. In 2008 159 or 8% of all of the offenses referred to the Winnebago County Juvenile Intake office were drug and alcohol offenses. That compares to 102 or 5% in 2007 and 118 or 5.5% in 2006. Information gathered by the intake staff suggests that an increasing number of Winnebago county juveniles have experimented with or abused prescription drugs.
Law enforcement agencies have seen an alarming increase in crimes associated with pharmaceuticals. Prescription drugs are the #1 threat in the Fox Valley. In 2007, there were 8 armed robberies of pharmacies in the Fox Valley. This accounted for nearly a third of the total armed robberies of pharmacies for the entire state. In 2008, there were 4 home invasions in the Fox Valley in which pharmaceutical drugs were the primary target.
With the assistance of national organizations such as The Partnership for a Drug Free America and the National Office for Drug Control Policy, and pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma; a campaign “Good Drugs Gone Bad” has been developed to combat this growing problem.
Parents please join us on November 30 or December 2, 2010 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. to see what we can do to combat the abuse of pharmaceuticals and keep our children safe. Together we can make a difference.
Dorry Wilner
Community Programs Coordinator
Oshkosh Police Department
420 Jackson Street
Oshkosh, WI 54901
(920)236-5714
(920)236-5087 Fax
"We encourage citizens to join us as volunteers, partners and donors and thank you for your support and commitment to our partnership for a safe and strong community."
