Written by Mackenzie Billotti, a CSUCI student.

For privacy purposes the name of my interviewee will be changed. The interview with David was conducted May 2nd, 2021 on Zoom. We discussed his background and history with prescription drug abuse.

David suffered from a rare spinal disease called Scheuermann's Kyphosis. This is a condition that affects the upper part of the back and causes it to cur...

Written by a CSUCI student.

Prior to having taken a class that specifically talked about the opioid crisis in the United States, I truly had no knowledge of any of this. It is very interesting to actually learn about different experiences and also from real-life experiences. Personally, I feel that it is very easy to read an article discussing this serious issue and not really make any connection...

This post was written by a CSUCI student.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2020), 1.6 million people had an opioid use disorder and 745,000 people consumed heroin in 2019. This number shows that the opioid crisis is an ongoing issue that started a while ago. There is a demographic characteristic of the opioid epidemic. National Institute on Drug...

What are prescription drugs?

Also known as:

Opioids: Happy Pills, Hillbilly Heroin, OC, Oxy, Oxycotton, Percs, and Vikes

Depressants: A-minus, Barbs, Candy, Downers, Phennies, Reds, Red Birds, Seeping Pills, Tooies, Tranks, Yellow Jackets, Yellows, and Zombie Pills

Stimulants: Bennies, Black Beauties, Hearts, Roses, Skippy, The Smart Drug, Speed, and Vitamin R, and Uppers

Prescription drugs a...

Use of Ventura County’s Prescription Drug Disposal Program

Ventura County is actively engaged and committed to preventing Rx/OTC drug misuse and abuse. One of the ways the County works to address the issue locally is by reducing access, especially to teens. VCBH Alcohol and Drug Programs, in collaboration with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, established a countywide Rx disposal program that ...

This article is from Opioid Help, one of our community partners. From their website, “The world is facing an Opioid Epidemic that is unlike anything seen before. For this reason, Opioid Help has sought to be an extensive resource and community for information and support for people who have been affected by the prevalence of Opioids since 2019.” Visit their website and sign up for their newsletter...

The first National Fentanyl Awareness Day was May 10, 2022, and was recognized by organizations across the U.S. including the DEA. It was created to address our national public health crisis of deaths and overdoses due to fentanyl use. People, especially young people, are ingesting illegally manufactured fentanyl without knowing it and dying at alarming rates as a result.

The statistics are stagg...

Two decades ago, a new generation of supposedly “safer and less addictive” painkillers triggered an epidemic of opioid abuse in the U.S. Since then, opioid overdoses have killed over 400,000 Americans. Now, more than half of opioid deaths are caused by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Beyond the death toll, at least 2 million Americans have become addicted.

U.S. deaths from opioid overdoses re...

1 in 5 Ventura County teens have abused prescription drugs. 

Over 50% get them from friends and family. 

9% of 9th graders and 14% of 11th graders in Ventura County say they’ve used prescription medications to get high.

The countywide report of the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) indicates a hopeful decline in lifetime misuse of prescription drugs. However, prevention of Rx drug and heroi...

This article was written with information taken from the International Overdose Awareness Day website and Ventura County Responds.

In honor of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31st, here’s some information and resources about the signs and statistics of overdose.

Drug overdose is the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States, causing more deaths than motor ve...

Brought to you by Ventura County Responds and Ventura County Behavioral Health.

SAFE AND SECURE RX DRUG DISPOSAL

Ventura County is actively engaged and committed to preventing prescription drug misuse and abuse. One of the ways the County works to address the issue locally is by reducing access, especially to teens. The VCSO, in collaboration with Ventura County Behavioral Health (VCBH), establi...

The DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is coming up on Saturday, October 23rd, 2021. Rx Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquil...