MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) Educators, counselors and parents in Mobile County are getting a new tool to fight prescription drug abuse. It's called PEERx, and it's geared toward middle and high schoolers.
It was the topic of a summit at Bishop State College Thursday morning.
"Well it uses technology, and we know our children are attracted to technology," said Alabama Revenue Commissioner Julie Magee. "So anytime we can communicate a message to them in a means they really get, is a good thing for us to do."
Mobile is one of three test sites in the country for the nationwide programs. Anyone can log on for free and use the program's resources.
"There are so many different ways you can get a hold of prescription drugs, whether it's in your mom's medicine cabinet or whether you get or own prescription," said student Taria Pompey. "Many people get prescriptions and abusing them."
Pompey is the president of SGA at Bishop State. She said she turned out for the summit because she knows many of her peers abuse prescription drugs like it's no big deal.
"A lot of them end up dead or in jail," she said.
Jail is another part of the equation. The Mobile County District Attorney's Office is pushing the program to keep kids off the path to prosecution.
"They're getting them, most likely, out of their parents' medicine cabinets. They're getting them from someone they know, and they think it's not a crime. It is a crime," said District Attorney Ashley Rich.
If you'd like to try out the interactive PEERx program,
CLICK HERE.
