Officials provide education on prescription drugs and heroin for students

Many law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are beginning to offer education on how opium-related drugs can claim lives, especially among young people. Furthermore, many adolescents who use prescription medication often turn to heroin because it may be cheaper.

Law enforcement officials in Genesee County, recently provided Lake Fenton High School with information about heroin and prescription drug use, Michigan Live reports.

The program is in direct response to one student who lost his life to a heroin overdose. Officials told the news source that the the information is geared toward reminding teens about the dangers of drug use.

“We went to way too many teenage [crime scenes] due to drugs,” Brian Ross, Genesee County sheriff, told the news source. “Heroin overdose is growing in extreme numbers. And heroin, you say, ‘well heroin is not prescription drugs, what’s the difference?’ Prescription drugs ... are more dangerous than heroin.”

According to the 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey, approximately 1.2 percent of high school seniors used heroin at some point during their lifetime.