White House Official To Discuss Drug Policy with Charlestown Youth

A White House official will visit Charlestown on Wednesday, July 31 to discuss a new federal plan for drug policy reform and a local effort to prevent prescription drug abuse among teenagers.

The Charlestown Substance Abuse Coalition will host Ben Tucker, deputy director of state, local and tribal affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy at the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club. The event is not open to the public.

As part of the discussion, around 10 Charlestown youths will talk with Tucker about their work on “Turn It Around,” a social marketing campaign that raises awareness about the harmful consequences of prescription drug abuse, according to a press release from Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Community Health Improvement, which supports the coalition.

Turn It Around, which was launched in June, combines the latest facts about prescription drug use with insights from the Charlestown Substance Abuse Coalition’s teen youth group and the community “to ensure the campaign is relevant and authentic,” according to the press release.

With the number of prescription drug overdose deaths in the United States now greater than overdose deaths from heroin and cocaine combined, the Obama Administration in April released a science-based drug policy that looks at drug use not just a criminal justice issue but as a public health issue as well.

“The 2013 National Drug Control Strategy is built upon the latest scientific research demonstrating that addiction is a chronic disease of the brain that can be successfully prevented and treated, and from which one can recover,” according to the MGH press release. “As part of this approach, the [Obama] Administration is working to combat the prescription drug abuse epidemic by supporting the expansion of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), more convenient and environmentally responsible disposal methods to remove unused medications from the home, education for patients and healthcare providers and reducing the prevalence of pill mills and ‘doctor shopping’ through smart enforcement efforts.”