Real People: Legal but Dangerous OTC and RX Drugs DVD will grab students attention for a Drug Prevention Program or Red Ribbon Week

In a culture where the belief persists that every problem can be solved with a pill, teens naively think that if a medication could be harmful it wouldn’t be available. In this program, real teens talk about problems they’ve had using OTC drugs they thought were harmless. Others discuss how they got in trouble using drugs prescribed for someone else. Experts explore why teens will experiment with pills, which are often easier for them to get than alcohol or marijuana. This program also addresses the issue of substances sold in health food stores that are unregulated, and sometimes harmful. No quality-control procedures exist for these products that have been shown to cause serious harm, and in some cases, death. Experts explain how drugs affect the body and how everyone’s reaction to a drug is unique. This program also looks at how the Internet is fueling teens’ illegal use of prescription drugs. Grade 6 and Up. 20 minutes