Parents told to 'connect dots' on drugs

Two years ago, Salt Lake City resident Michael Doron lost his 17-year-old son, Joey, to an OxyContin overdose.

Joey became addicted after the mother of one of his friends distributed the drug, along with alcohol, to a group of teens, Doron told a crowd of about 100 in the Salt Lake City Library auditorium Wednesday night.

Doron tried to get help for his son. He went to school counselors and physicians from two different hospitals but was told Joey's strange behavior was within the realm of normalcy for teens.

"My son is dead," he said. "That's not normal."

Since Joey's death, Doron has founded Connecting The Dots, a parental drug awareness organization, and is now working with the Salt Lake City Mayor's Coalition on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs.

His speech Wednesday was part of a town hall meeting presented by the mayor's coalition, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America.

The meeting was one of 12 taking place nationwide as part of a recent congressional declaration of August as National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month.

Mayor Rocky Anderson, the keynote speaker for the meeting, told the crowd 6.5 percent of Utahns over the age of 12 used prescription painkillers without a prescription in 2006.

Prescription and over-the-counter drug abusers comprised 7.8 percent of teenagers and 13 percent of adults younger than 25, Anderson said.

In addition, 307 Utahns died from overdoses of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines last year. A smaller number of Utahns died in automobile accidents during the same time period, he said.

"All of us in business, government and throughout our community urgently need to seek solutions to this alarming problem in our city and to find out how to help those who need treatment," Anderson said. "That's why we're here tonight."

After Anderson spoke, a panel of five experts, including Doron, addressed the audience. They discussed their experiences with drug abusers, then proposed solutions to the problem.

LDS Hospital emergency room physician Shari Welch said she sees at least one major overdose each night and constantly tries to weed out drug-seekers from those who legitimately need help.