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 Aurora Superintendent Pat Ciccantelli, 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.
“That access then becomes – for the wrong person – 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, ‘I don’t want 30; I want 5.’ We can tell our doctor that, ‘don’t prescribe me 30; prescribe me 5.’ There are drop-offs; within our community in Aurora, there’s a drop-off location. So once the medication is done – your child or yourself, you don’t need it anymore – get rid of it."
Ciccentelli adds “there’s no one who’s not facing issues with opiates and heroin. Whether we’re suburban, rural [or] urban, we’re facing a problem.”
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.
