COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Some tragic stories involving recent Kennesaw State University graduates have prompted the university to take action to try to prevent deaths caused by prescription drug abuse. It's one of the fastest growing causes of death for young people.
When Kennesaw State officials cut the ribbon for their new prescription drug drop-off box, Cathy Letalien was front and center, just days before what would have been her son's 27th birthday. KSU grad Jeremy Letalien died of a drug overdose last year.
“When we talked about Jeremy we would never, ever in the million years thought he'd take any type of drug, much less a prescription drug that was not prescribed to him,” Cathy Letalien said.
That is, unfortunately, a growing story. Those who fall prey to prescription drug abuse are generally 18 to 24 years old, who the drop off box targets.
“Instead of waiting for there to be a problem and waiting for a problem we've decided to be proactive and search for a solution. It allows people to drop off those prescriptions so they are not just lying around the house and waiting for that temptation to take hold,” KSU Dean of Students Dr. Michael Sanseviro said. Tanya Smith,
KSU’s Crime Victims Services coordinator, was recently with Holly Springs police. After losing a daughter to an overdose, she championed the use of Naloxone as a drug first responders could use to save those who'd overdosed, and when students returned to KSU's campus for the fall term, the department became the first Georgia college with cops carrying the drug.
“It's a natural first step for us to have this antidote in place that if one of our students does overdose we are right there to respond. We have what we need to use to reduce that overdose and get that student advanced emergency medical help,” Smith said.