Prescription drug safety starts with all Coloradans

In February 2015, Governor John Hickenlooper launched the “Take Meds Seriously” public awareness campaign. “Take Meds Seriously” is a new statewide campaign advocating for the safe use, storage and disposal of prescription drugs in Colorado.

Behind this vital campaign is a group called The Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention. The Consortium consists of a very impressive list of community partners, each of whom is participating in one of six work groups.

According to the campaign website, “The mission of the Consortium is to reduce the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs in the State of Colorado through improvements in education, public outreach, research, safe disposal, and treatment. The goal of these efforts is to prevent 92,000 Coloradans from misusing opioids by 2016.”

Grim statistics and recent surveys reveal how pervasive prescription drug misuse and abuse is in Colorado. Thirty-five Coloradans died a month in 2013 from unintentional drug overdoses.

Gov. Hickenlooper announced on February 24, 2015, “Colorado ranks 12th in the nation for abuse and misuse of prescription drugs. This campaign is just one part of a coordinated, statewide strategy that simultaneously restricts access to prescription drugs for illicit use, while ensuring access for those who legitimately need them. The messages and tools provided through this effort will help us take on this serious public health challenge, as part of our commitment to becoming the healthiest state in the nation.”

“The Colorado Attorney General’s Office is proud to have contributed $1 million in seed money to support the Consortium’s work,” said Attorney General Cynthia Coffman. “It is fitting that funds from settlements with major pharmaceutical companies to resolve charges of misconduct are now being spent to combat Colorado’s prescription drug abuse problem.”

The University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy on the Anschutz Medical Campus serves as the Coordinating Center and headquarters for the Consortium. The aim is for the Consortium to meet specific quarterly goals in each of the six work group areas and produce a specific Colorado Plan in one year. The Colorado VNA is proud to be a public awareness advocate for this important cause.

Did you know?
• Nearly 224,000 Coloradans misuse prescription pain relievers each year. Prescription drug safety starts with you and asking questions of your physician and pharmacist.
• One out of every six of Colorado’s 12th graders has taken a prescription that wasn’t theirs. Keep your family safe and talk to your kids about the right way to use prescription medicine. Visit TakeMedsSeriously.org for safety tips and much more.
• In 2013, almost 50 Coloradans died each month from unintentional drug poisonings. Safe prescription medicine use starts with you.
• Almost half of all Coloradans have unused or expired prescription drugs in their medicine cabinets at home that can be abused. You don’t need them, so get rid of them. Learn the best way to dispose your prescription medicine at TakeMedsSeriously.org.
• 42 percent of teens who’ve misused or abused prescription drugs got them from their parents’ medicine cabinet. Have you locked up your medicine? Keep your children safe.
Start an ongoing conversation with your kids about the subject. SpeakNowColorado.org is a comprehensive website for parents that provides guidance on how to address prescription drugs, and other substances, with their children.
• There are resources in our state to help with addiction. Several agencies around the state offer help with addiction or dependency. Go to http://takemedsseriously.org/safe-use/abuse/recreational-use/ to find help near you.

To learn more about the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, visit its website and Save the Date for the group’s annual meeting this fall on October 15, 2015.