Medical Minute: Substance use awareness

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As students return to school this month, parents are encouraged to talk to their kids about substance use. Dr. Reb Close, Addiction Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Montage Health, and Dr. Casey Grover, Addiction Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Montage Health, say that a drastic increase in fentanyl overdoses and deaths in Monterey County have community leaders concerned.

“Things are scary right now for our kids and our community in general,” Close says. “It is hard to talk about, but right now it is dangerous not to talk about it.”

Grover says he routinely sees substance use among high schoolers and middle schoolers, and while that may seem young, it is becoming more common. When Close asks patients when they started using or when they were first exposed, the answer is often as young as 12.

“There are three things that I think all parents should be doing right now,” Grover says. “Number one, Narcan [naloxone]. Learn how to use it. Number two, educate yourself. And number three, talk to your kid before they get to middle school.”

Both doctors say it is important to plan with your child on how to say no to drugs, and to teach them that skill now so they’re ready.

Visit Prescribe Safe to learn more information including resources for talking to your kids, where to get naloxone, how to recognize an opioid overdose, and how to act.

Reb J. Close, MD

Addiction Medicine and Emergency Medicine

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Casey A. Grover, MD

Addiction Medicine and Emergency Medicine

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