Coalition RX, an Omaha-based organization with the mission of reducing the misuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs, will be holding its first conference, “The State of Prescription Drug Abuse in Nebraska” on October 20th.
Coalition RX President, Creighton Professor Dr. Edward De Simone, says the conference is designed to help everyone understand the problem of opioid abuse.
De Simone says although opioid abuse is not as severe in Nebraska as it is in some states, we do have teenagers and young adults dying from it on a regular basis.
“If this were an epidemic of any infectious disorder, everybody would be up in arms. But because it’s drugs, there’s this stigma about people who use drugs; it’s just not as important. But this is an epidemic. The drugs are powerful, potent, and even short-term use of these drugs just get people addicted so strongly that they can never get off of them, and that’s really the sad part.”
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Wilson Compton, Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson will address the State’s response to the problem.
De Simone says the conference, which takes place Friday, October 20th on the UNO campus, is for parents and grandparents as well as teachers, health professionals and first responders.
For more information, the website is CoalitionRX.org or Coalition RX on Facebook.