More than a dozen school superintendents met today with law enforcement to discuss the growing opioid crisis.
Officials from Summit, Portage, Cuyahoga and surrounding counties gathered at the invitation of , who says education about opioid abuse is key for both parents and students. He says one area for improvement is with student athletes who have leftover painkillers after a sports injury.
鈥淭hat access then becomes 鈥� for the wrong person 鈥� the beginning of the road to an addiction. So one of the things we learned is that we can say when we go to a pharmacy, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want 30; I want 5.鈥� We can tell our doctor that, 鈥榙on鈥檛 prescribe me 30; prescribe me 5.鈥� There are drop-offs; within our community in Aurora, there鈥檚 a drop-off location. So once the medication is done 鈥� your child or yourself, you don鈥檛 need it anymore 鈥� get rid of it.
Ciccentelli adds 鈥渢here鈥檚 no one who鈥檚 not facing issues with opiates and heroin. Whether we鈥檙e suburban, rural [or] urban, we鈥檙e facing a problem.鈥�
Ciccantelli says Aurora plans to work closely with its school resource officer to talk with students about opioid abuse. He adds that the district also hosted a parent information night on the issue in the spring, and plans another one in the fall.
