Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Initiative

The Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Initiative of The Council on Alcohol and Drugsin collaboration with the Medical Association of Georgia Foundation’s Think About It Campaign, will focus four priority areas (see below) to prevent prescription drug abuse in Georgia.  These four areas have been identified in the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP’s) Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan (EPIDEMIC: RESPONDING TO AMERICA’S PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE CRISIS, ONDCP, 2011). The Initiative will take action on the nine deliverables listed below. Funding for this Initiative is being provided by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities/Division of Addictive Diseases/Office of Prevention Services and Programs (DBHDD/DAD/OPSP) via a contract to The Council on Alcohol and Drugs.

Click here for the Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Initiative Fact Sheet

Click here for the Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Initiative Fact Sheet in Word

Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Collaborative (GPDAPC)

The Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Collaborative (GPDAPC) is a component of the Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Initiative (GAPDAPI). As you already know prescription drug abuse impacts all of Georgia in many ways, from loss of life to increased crime, from elementary school youth to the elderly. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONCDP), prescription drug abuse is our nation's fastest growing drug problem (Office of National Drug Control and Policy, ONDCP). The CDC has classified prescription drug abuse as an “epidemic” (Center for Disease Control, CDC). The development of this Collaborative is in direct response to this “epidemic.” The Council on Alcohol and Drugs (TCAD) wants to join together with other local, county, state, and regional partners to form this Statewide Collaborative. The Stated Purposes of the Collaborative are to address ONDCP’s Four Priority Areas and help accomplish the Collaborative-related deliverables of the Georgia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Initiative. Click here to see the Collaborative Related Tasks that the GPDAPC will be focused on. We hope that as you review the Four Priority Areas and Collaborative Related Tasks, you will see how our related goals and objectives can be accomplished simultaneously. The Collaborative’s overall Goal will be to prevent and reduce prescription drug abuse in Georgia! This goal will be accomplished with the leadership of TCAD working with partners like you. If you are interested in learning more about the GPDAPC then please email John Bringuel at jbringuel(at)livedrugfree.org.

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)

Headline after headline indicate a rise in prescription (Rx) drug abuse among teens – second only to marijuana. In fact, today prescription drugs are abused more than cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and methamphetamine combined. In response to this epidemic, CADCA designed the Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit: From Awareness to Action. This unique toolkit provides the facts, approaches, strategies and messages that coalitions can use to move communities beyond that first stage of awareness into action.  Read more

Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence (CLAAD)

The primary objective of the not-for-profit Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence (CLAAD) is to coordinate a comprehensive national effort to prevent the diversion, misuse, and abuse of prescription medications while ensuring adequate medical care for patients in need. CLAAD supports a balanced approach to prescription drug policy: efforts to prevent abuse must not impede proper medical practice and patient care.  Read more.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Up and Away Campaign”

"Up and Away and Out of Sight" is an educational program to remind families of the importance of safe medicine storage. It is an initiative of PROTECT, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association Educational Foundation and … Read more.

Opioids911-Safety, Help for Safely Using Opioid Pain Relievers

Opioids911-Safety (Opioids911.org) is an independent, noncommercial, Internet-based educational activity from Pain Treatment Topics (Pain-Topics.org) for patients and their caregivers focusing on the proper and safe use of opioid pain relievers. Our mission is to provide an understanding of opioid analgesics and their various risks, and to suggest specific actions for preventing opioid-related problems, including: misuse, abuse, addiction, diversion, adverse reactions, overmedication, and life-threatening overdose. Instruction is provided on recognizing opioid problems if they do occur and on being prepared for what to do during an emergency.  Read more.