P.E.A.C.E.

Foundation Newsletter

July 2013

Our Mission:
To educate the public about the dangers of prescription drugs and empower them with the knowledge to recognize and stop abuse before it

Issue 1, July 2013

Upcoming Events
August 21st 9am Lenoir County Substance Abuse Task Force Monthly Meeting Recovery Month National Medicine Abuse Project P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Annual Plate Sale Operation Medicine Drop Lenoir Cointy

What is P.E.A.C.E.??
The P.E.A.C.E. Foundation was founded ion July of 2011 after the unintentional prescription drug overdose death of a Sixteen-Year-old Lenoir County Resident Kaitlyn Nicole Rouse. After Kaitlyns death her mother Shannon Rouse Ruiz decided to take her daughters tragedy and help other parents and teens that may feel alone and are struggling with addiction issues. For more information about The P.E.A.C.E. Foundation please visit us on our Website: @Www.peacefoundationnc.org And like us Facebook!

September 1st-31st September 22nd 28th September 27th

October 26th

Every Day is Drug Independence Day!! Visit our Website to take the Pledge!!
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P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Newsletter

Issue 1, July 2013

More Stupid Drunk Tricks

Sadly, I am not kidding, people really are doing these things to get drunk. Not surprisingly, most articles discussing these practices attribute them to teenagers and college students. Underage drinking continues to be a significant problem, causing the death of approximately 4,700 kids each year (SAMHSA) with 68% of the deaths not associated with traffic accidents. Although it is illegal in this country for persons under 21 years of age to consume alcohol, kids continue to find inventive ways to do so. Smoking alcohol 1 involves using dry ice or a special device to vaporize alcohol, allowing the user to inhale the fumes and rapidly get the effects of the alcohol. It can cause serious damage to sensitive lung tissue due to the low temperatures and the alcohol is not tempered by passing through the digestive system.

Its the dangerous new way teens are getting drunk and its going viral. Doctors even say it could be deadly.

I have previously mentioned drinking hand sanitizer 2, available just about anywhere, as a way to quickly get an alcohol buzz. We often send our kids to school with hand sanitizer and its improper use is difficult to detect. Butt chugging 3 involves inserting alcohol directly into the rectum, either by soaking a tampon in it or using a bag and tube. The alcohol is rapidly absorbed into the system and bypasses the bodys normal filtration systems.

Kids are inventive. Look for the signs of alcohol abuse and work with your kids before they can become one of the 4,700. 2

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P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Newsletter

Issue 1, July 2013

The History Behind P.E.A.C.E.!

\In 2011, Shannon lost her 16-year-old daughter Kaitlyn to a prescription drug overdose. When Kaitlyn passed away, Shannon had her daughters organs donated, and that selfless act has saved six other lives. Kaitlyns heart went to New York resident Brianna Barker, then 13, who Shannon met for the first time just yesterday, along with her mother Veronica. After the loss of her daughter, Shannon founded a local North Carolina foundation she named PEACE (Prescription Education Abuse Counseling Empowerment), which is committed to educating the public about the dangers of prescription drugs and empowering them with the knowledge to recognize and stop abuse before it starts. We are honored that Shannon shared her story with us. She, along with other parent members of our NPN, offers her valuable insight and guidance to help other caregivers who are facing teen drug and alcohol abuse issues. This work helps further our mission to solve the problem of teen substance abuse. Are you a parent who has a personal experience with teen substance abuse? Are you interested in volunteering your time, wisdom and expertise to help other families touched by teen drug and alcohol abuse? If so, please contact Shannon Ruiz, Executive Director of the P.E.A.C.E. Foundation at (shannonrouseruiz@gmail .com). Let us know why youd like to help, and learn how you can join our Parent Network. Thank you!

P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Newsletter

Issue 1, July 2013

What the Sheriff has to say about Substance Abuse in LC.

We are suffering from some very serious issues especially as it concerns drug abuse. Internationally, 208 million people use illegal drugs. There are 14 million drug users in the United States and there are 4 million people that are chronic abusers. Did you know that drug traffickers have an annual profit of 600 billion dollars. Every 12 seconds a school aged person will use illegal drugs for the first time and their dealers will go on their school grounds and provide it to them. Today, the leading cause of accidental death, is from the overdose of a prescription medication. Every 15 minutes someone dies from an overdose of prescription medications. No longer are my officers totally concerned with crack cocaine, marijuana, or meth but prescription drugs. Our children think that because medications come from a doctor and that because its in the medicine cabinet, that it must be safe. But why do kids even consider taking drugs. They do it because they want to fit in, to escape or relax, to relieve boredom, to seem grown up, to rebel, or to experiment. At some point in their young lives someone probably told them that: It will make you cool, you will not get hooked from just one hit, one hit will never hurt, weed will not lead to harder drugs, if you get drunk you will be one of the guys, if you do it you can party all night, prescription pills are totally safe, meth will get you through the exam, sniffing glue is no big deal, heroin is the best high ever, and acid will make you forget your problems. If you speak to a kid who had abused drugs they would probably tell you: They did it because I wanted to fit in, they did it because they couldnt deal with life, they did it because they wanted to experiment, they did it because they are stubborn and rebellious. They will also probably tell you that whoever got them started on drugs lied to them about the consequences. A drug dealer is a salesman and will lie and deceive to create a new customer. But kids dont always get their drugs from street dealers, they sometimes get their drugs, especially prescription pain killers from their friends and relatives. 70% of prescription drug abusers indicate that they got their drugs from friends and family members. 4

P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Newsletter

Issue 1, July 2013

There is no difference in terminology whether a person provides one Percocet to a person or provides a gram of cocaine, they are considered drug dealers. What are the most commonly abuse prescription drugs out there: Seconal, Nembutal, Ativan, Valium, Xanax, Codeine, Fentanyl, morphine, opium products such as Oxcotin, Percodan, and Percocet, methamphetamines, cocaine, and steroids. We know that drug abuse is relational to robberies, burglaries, and thefts. People who abuse drugs must support their habits by committing these types of crimes. If you have a high crime rate, you probably have a serious drug abuse problem. So, the answer is, if you want to reduce robberies, burglaries, and thefts, you have to reduce drug abuse. Drug abuse is not just a law enforcement problem, it is a community cancer. We have all heard that it takes a village to raise a child; well it also takes a village to stop drug abuse. If you think that this issue can be solved by law enforcement, then you do not realize the immense complexity and gravity of the issue. Law enforcement cannot make a measurable impact on drug abuse from the position of enforcement because we have limited resources. So, the community must be willing to get involved. They must become intolerant to drug dealing and report dealers to law enforcement. At the same time we must educate our kids and tell them about the horrors of drug abuse. A teen that is completely informed about drug abuse from a drug abuser their own age is probably one the best tools in reducing drug abuse in that they may never experiment with drugs after hearing about the consequences. Its important that kids hear stories from mothers and fathers who have lost children to drug abuse. A kid may quickly realize that doing drugs does not make you cool, or fit in with friends, or escape reality. Kids also need to hear it coming from the pulpit. Understand this, If there are no users, they are no abusers, and crime is reduced, which also means that drug profits dry up and the dealers leave. The best remedy is to stop a kid by educating them before they ever get tempted to try drugs. If they make their mind up that they want no part of drugs then they are likely to never try them. As a matter of fact, studies show that if a person reaches the age of 21 and has not used drugs, they likely never will. Substance Abuse in Lenoir County: Lenoir County is no different than any other county in North Carolina. We have ppl addicted to marijuana, cocaine, crack, crystal meth, ecstasy, heroin and LSD. Occasionally we hear about those using mushrooms and huffing gas from whip cream cans and compressed air cans, not to mention the rampant use of prescription medications by persons of all ages. Is it getting any better, no. 5

P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Newsletter

Issue 1, July 2013

We tend to go through cycles of various drugs where we hear about more production or usage. Marijuana is a very common drug and we see it all the time, but over the years we have seen increases in meth production, sales and usage. My officers continue to find and dismantle meth labs in our county. The drug is cheap, provides a high that is of a long duration, is intense and is very addictive. We are now beginning to see a resurgence of heroin. What do I think about the problem: Drug abuse if not seriously addressed by the entire community will only get worse. If drug abuse gets worse, the incidence of crime will get worse. We will have new drugs that will emerge and we will have more drug abusers. What do I plan to do about it: The better question is, what does the community plan to do about it. My people will continue to curb the flow of narcotics but the community has got to reach the kids before they make the choice to use drugs. I would like to see drug education put back into the schools. Remember, if we can reach children before they go down this path we will create a larger pool of non-users who will dry up profits from drug sales. Can a large group of motivated teens create a movement in their schools to stop drug abuse? Absolutely. Will most teens listen to other teens before they listen to adults? Yes. As I have stated before we must develop solutions to address children and young adults before they go down this path. I think education about the consequences of drug abuse is the key. Our kids need to know the facts and see the consequences. Nationally, we need to create a standardized database that contains all prescriptions and do away with paper prescriptions. If law enforcement had access to the data we could see prescription medication usage and who is obtaining them, and we could discover those that are shopping for doctors in attempts to obtain prescriptions painkillers. We may also discover those in the medical field who are facilitating drug abuse. We will continue to have drives such as medicine drop to recover old medications and get them out of the homes so that children dont accidentally or intentionally ingest them.

P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Newsletter

Issue 1, July 2013

Ways to get involved: My best suggestion is to get involved in a local community programs such as community watch group, the safe kids coalition, the PEACE foundation. You cannot solve your crime problems and drug abuse by sitting at home and watching cops on tv. You have to get involved and take a stand. Can we as a community offer people activities that are alternatives to drug use? We must be willing to report suspicious activity, write down license plates, document what you see, remember its a community problem its not just a law enforcement problem.

The bedroom is a traveling room designed to instruct parents where too search for drugs in their home and what drugs looks like. Many times, children can conceal the use of drugs/paraphernalia in their rooms. We teach how to conduct a proper safety sweep, signs of drug abuse, and provide free resources that are available in our local community. This is perfect for church groups, PTAs, or anyone concerned about the well being of their child.

To Schedule the Bedroom Project for your Church or Civic Organization please contact us @: Director@peacefoundation.org