Prescription and opioid-based drug abuse in Connecticut
The Connecticut Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Workgroup would like to share this public statement announcement which addresses the misuse and abuse of prescription medications and opioid-based drugs. The Connecticut Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Workgroup is a coalition of state agencies, non-profits and other state partners of which Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) is part of.
Overdoses related to abuse of prescription medications and opioid drugs have become a rising problem across the country within the last few years as the number of hospitalizations, trips to the Emergency Department, and deaths related to drug overdoses have increased. Misuse and abuse of these drugs is very high among young people with an average annual death due to drug overdose of 13.2 and an average annual Emergency Department visit related to drug overdoses of 79.5 per 100,000 people within the age group of 20-24 between 2008 and 2013.
Along with multiple community partners, The DPH is working to reduce this problem by educating the public on the harms of misusing these various prescription and opioid-based drugs. Please take the time to watch this short video PSA and learn about the harmful effects of misusing and abusing drugs and how you can help others who may be at risk of having an overdose.
For further information on the issue and how to identify if someone is experiencing an overdose, please follow the link below:
http://ct.gov/dph/opioidoverdoseprevention
For more information, contact: Connecticut Department of Public Health at (860) 509-8251