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Substance abuse focus of panel...
arent education may be key to stemming the alarming increase of substance abuse among Westford youth, according to substance abuse prevention experts.
Westford Against Substance Abuse (WASA) will hold a panel discussion about substance abuse prevention at 7 p.m., Tuesday Nov. 8 in the Stony Brook School Auditorium. Parents and students may attend the panel, which will include Kathy Sizer, R.N., Mark Shelford, substance abuse coordinator at Emerson Hospital, John Lyons, Westford public schools health coordinator, and Dr. Andreas Athanasiou, a primary care physician in Westford for 25 years.
"Over the last few years we have seen a transformation in Westford from absolutely zero hard drugs to several cases that we know about of kids with serious drug addictions," said Athanasiou. Athanasiou hopes that this panel will allow parents to diagnose problems earlier and discuss the issue with their children.
"I feel compelled to do this as a primary care physician who deals with a lot of kids. I see a growing problem that is happening among the young teenage population and we have to talk about this and make it a topic of discussion," said Athanasiou. He said that he hopes to make people more aware of the scope of substance abuse in Westford.
The 2004 Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed an increase in use of prescription drugs, especially OxyContin, among Westford teenagers, according to Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator Tina Grosowski. Grosowski said that the death of a recent Westford Academy graduate from an OxyContin overdose heightened the need for substance abuse education.
"We know for a fact that kids today are being medicated for a variety of reasons at an increasing number," Lyons said. He said that parents, educators and school nurses need to be aware that these prescription drugs are being used illegally.
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