To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Ori Tzvieli, Interim Health Services Director
Report Title: Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month 2025
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT resolution and ACCEPT presentation recognizing March 2025 as Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month in Contra Costa County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no impact for this action.
BACKGROUND:
Once a year, Behavioral Health and its partners acknowledge Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month in Contra Costa, to highlight prescription drug safety prevention efforts to increase the safety and well-being of individuals in Contra Costa. In recognition to the ongoing prevention efforts led by the Contra Costa County Medication Education and Disposal Safety (MEDS) Coalition and Health Department to raise prescription drug safety awareness and promote well-being among individual in Contra Costa.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California
body
IN THE MATTER OF proclaiming March 2025 Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month
WHEREAS, When used as prescribed by a doctor, prescription medicines such as stimulants, sedatives and opioids can be helpful in treating many illnesses, but when these medications are misused, they can have serious consequences National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); and
WHEREAS, Many prescription drugs can alter a person's thinking and judgment, and can lead to health risks, including addiction, drugged driving, infectious disease, and adverse effects on pregnancy (NIDA, 2023); and
WHEREAS, Anyone who takes prescription opioids can become addicted to them. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as many as one in four patients receiving long-term opioid therapy in a primary care setting struggles with opioid use disorder (OUD);
WHEREAS, Prescription opioid overdose deaths also often involve benzodiazepines. Benzodiaz...
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