Hello MpoweredParent Readers,

My name is Christy Crandell. I am a mother of two and I have been a member of the Five Moms campaign to stop cough medicine abuse for more than three years. I am thankful for the opportunity to write to you all today and tell you the story about why I became a drug awareness advocate.

When my son, Ryan, was 18-years-old, he was arrested for armed robbery while high on over-the-counter cough medicine. Shocked doesn’t even begin to describe how my husband and I felt after his arrest – although there were warning signs, Ryan had a huge heart and I never thought something like this would happen in my family. I joined the Five Moms campaign to show parents across the country that it’s never okay to think “not my kid.” I want parents to understand that this type of denial can lead to tragedy, and that cough medicine abuse has real, life-altering consequences. While I am proud of the efforts we have made to stop this dangerous trend, our job is far from over.

Recently the National Institute on Drug Abuse released the results of this year’s Monitoring the Future study; regarding the practice of over-the-counter cough medicine abuse, the study notes that annual prevalence rates remain at 5 percent of teens. This isn’t a large number, but in our mind, it’s still too many. It’s a call to action among parents and community members to get together and help bring this number down to zero. More parents and teachers need to be made aware of this trend.

Thank you for making a difference!

Make a difference to protect your teens by joining us on Facebook and encouraging your friends to do so, too!

There is also a variety of information and resources about medicine abuse and how to prevent it.

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