The town of Sanborn, NH, used a recent situation to educate its community about the dangers of over-the-counter medicine abuse. When two teenagers were briefly hospitalized at the end of October after abusing cough medicine to get high, their school responded quickly to make parents aware of what happened. The incident occurred during Sanborn Regional High’s Red Ribbon Drug Awareness Week, and it brought cough medicine abuse to the attention of the school’s administrators and community leaders. The school plans to expand its drug awareness education to reach beyond illegal substances to cover other substances of abuse. The school’s principal, Gail Sudduth explained her reaction:

“What became very clear to me was that you can have a very significant reaction from abusing over-the-counter medication…It was a lesson learned for all of us.”

The best way to prevent abuse is through education. Spread the word that cough medicine abuse is dangerous.