Marion County Public Health Department
Youth Engagement
Know the Facts
What is an Opioid?
Opioids, sometimes called narcotics, are a type of drug. They include strong prescription pain relievers, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, tramadol and methadone. The illegal drug heroin is also an opioid. Some opioids are made from the opium plant, and others are synthetic
(man-made).
What is Addiciton?
Drug addiction, also called substance dependence or dependence syndrome, is a condition where a person feels a strong need to take a drug. Addiction also involves other behaviors, such as finding it difficult to control the need to use the drug and feeling the use of the drug to be more important than normal things such as family or work.
What do I do if I have extra pills around the house?
When your doctor and your parents say you don’t need any more of a prescribed pain medicine, make sure you get rid of it safely. It may sound easy, don’t flush or throw out your pills. Many pharmacies and police stations will destroy any prescription drugs you no longer need or want. — Most importantly, make sure you are not sharing your prescribed drugs with anyone else, even if others are feeling pain or you think your prescription could help them feel better. Your doctor wrote this prescription for you.
Don’t help someone on the path to addiction.
#BEALEADERNOTAFOLLOWER
Resources
MCPHD Substance Use Outreach Program • 1650 N. College Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46202
317-221-4618
Confidential HIV/STD/HEP C Counseling and Testing
MCPHD ACTION Health Center • 2868 N. Pennsylvania Street
317-221-3400
Health Education • Medical Services • Behavioral Health
Serving Adolescents and Young Adults to Age 26
Drug Free Marion County • www.drugfreemc.org
Indiana Mental Health and Addiction Resource Line
1-800-662-HELP(4357)
Nearly 1/3 of children entering foster care do so, in part, because of parental drug use.
- 22%
2005
- 32%
2015
“If you have kids and you do
drugs… And they see that…
What type of influence do
you think they will see?
OPIOIDS
The killer of the future… It started with the pain… I wanted a little gain. Go to the doctor to try to heal. It was only a little pill. I was starting to feel better after every prescription letter. I popped a couple a day… To take the pain away. As time went on… My health got better… But just in case… I still had the prescription letter. Told a little lie and said that I still hurt. I was doing good ’til… I found myself hiding pills in my shirt. Rushing to the doctor waiting in line in traffic… I swear I’m not hooked I’m too young to be an addict. To prove myself wrong I tried to throw them all away. But something in my head said keep them… Let them stay… I went back to my ways even got a job at a store everything was going good until the doctor said she couldn’t give me anymore.
I was ok at first, I assumed my life would still be in order. But before I knew it… I hit up some dudes on my corner. I guess I reached that place called addiction… I didn’t know it could happen to me… Just fiction. So if you find yourself struggling to break away from the pill… Seek some help someone else knows how you feel. —Sarah Wells, 19 Years Old
OPIOID OVERDOSES ARE
INCREASING IN EVERY AGE GROUP
Be a Show Stopper Not a Pill Popper”
—17 year old student
The goal of the Marion County Public Health Department’s Substance Use Outreach Services Youth Opioid Response Plan is to:
• Educate youth about the dangers of opioids
• Increase awareness of high risk situations
for substance use and abuse
• Provide accurate information about opioids
• Talk to youth about ways to resist pressure to use opioids
The U.S. is in the midst of an opioid
overdose epidemic with every state,
county, socio-economic and ethnic
group impacted.
Drug overdose is the leading cause of
accidental death in the United States.
– U. S. Surgeon General, Jerome Adams