On March 23, a group of five University of Iowa College of Pharmacy students visited North Central Junior High School to discuss safe medication use. The students, members of the University of Iowa Pharmacy Recovery Network (UI-PRN) and Generation Rx, delivered presentations to eighth grade health classes about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and safe medication disposal.

Early and consistent education is key, considering that one in three teens reports knowing someone who abuses prescription drugs, and nearly one in five reports abusing medications that were not prescribed to them. The pharmacy students provided the classes with resources and real-life examples of the dangers of mixing prescription drugs.

UI-PRN is the College of Pharmacy’s branch of the Iowa Pharmacy Recovery Network, an organization designed to help pharmacy professionals who have some form of impairment to identify their problem, enter a treatment program, and provide monitoring during the recovery process. Members help others through their entire recovery process. UI-PRN organizes activities such as alcohol-free stress relieving events and arranges for guest speakers to tell their recovery stories. UI-PRN is also available for students to come to with concerns about themselves or others.

Generation Rx is a national program, aimed at preventing the misuse and abuse of prescription medications. It is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association.