RALEIGH — A group Laurinburg students were among the statewide winners of the fifth-annual Stop Rx Abuse video contest.
For the past five years, Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office has partnered with the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, the North Carolina Parent Resource Center, and the Governor’s Institute on Substance Abuse to sponsor the competition.
The contest asked students enrolled in grades sixth through 12 in North Carolina to create 30-second public service announcement videos about teen prescription drug abuse and upload them to YouTube.
Jenna Hammonds, a sixth-grade student at Spring Hill Middle School in Laurinburg, accepted the third-place award on behalf of her classmates and fellow filmmakers — Sahale Locklear, Jenna Hammonds, Ashlei Erby, Alaina Butera, Ajana Anderson, Haley Ransom, Robert Nicholson and Marcos Hatcher.
According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services national survey, among people ages 12-17, prescription drugs are the second most abused drug behind marijuana. The survey also found that most people age 12 or older who abuse prescription drugs get them from a friend or family member for free.
“Young people are the most effective advocates for issues that affect their peers,” Cooper said. “We appreciate that these students used their time and their talents to spread the word about the dangers of prescription drug misuse and abuse.”
A panel of independent judges selected the winning videos from among 111 submitted. Cooper played the winning videos and presented the students with their awards at the North Carolina Parent Resource Center Conference at the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh on Tuesday.
The Spring Hill Middle School students received an iTunes gift card for the third-prize win. The 30-second video is titled “Caring is not sharing — Never Share Prescription Meds.” It tells the story of students who takes a friend’s prescription medication to help her get through tough school presentation.
The winning videos and honorable mentions are featured on the NC Department of Justice website. The Spring Hill video can be viewed at ncdoj.gov or on the office’s Facebook,or go to ww.youtube.com/watch?v=y54hZJbbqpE&index=3&list=PLgjs3250pMUW-ADiPsMextf8sgfcFdwxD.
