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The National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse (NCAPDA) is a volunteer-based nonprofit that works to educate people on the dangers of prescription drug abuse and aid communities struggling with the opioid crisis.
In the past, NCAPDA mostly gave educational presentations in schools and other locations, including overdose rescue training, but since then the organization has expanded to distributing naloxone kits, providing overdose training, and advocating for better government policies.
“There was legislation that was passed last year that allowed high school students and middle students to bring naloxone on campus, along with fentanyl test strips. The problem is that they have to get it somewhere else other than in the schools,” April Rovero, the founder of NCAPDA said of an issue NCAPDA is advocating for. “So the legislation didn’t go far enough. We feel the schools should make it available to students who want and need it.”
Rovero founded the nonprofit after the passing of her son, Joey, who was prescribed medications and died nine days later. He was a senior about to graduate from Arizona State University. He died the night before he was going to fly back home for the holidays. Joey had taken some prescribed medications, Xanax and Oxycontin, and had drunk a bit of alcohol while celebrating the end of the semester. These combined had reacted badly.
The doctor who gave Joey the prescriptions was what’s called a “rogue” or “dirty doctor”. She had been prescribing opioids without real medical need for about six to seven years,and was eventually arrested. She was charged with, and ultimately convicted of, three counts of second degree murder, and was set to serve thirty years to life in prison.
But the damage was already done.
“My personal reaction to this was, ‘If this could happen to us, it could certainly happen to anybody else’, because my family had no experience with these medications,” Rovero said.”We just needed to keep other families from experiencing what we had.”
To prevent future cases, Rovero advised other families to do research about the doctors they were trusting and ask questions of a doctor or pharmacist, who are experts in how the medications react, and about what has been prescribed,
According to Rovero, it’s ideal to have medications filled at the same pharmacy so the pharmacist has a record of what is being taken. Also, it’s important to pay attention to how someone is reacting to the medication and, if they have any of the side effects, to contact their doctor immediately.
Rovero explained that, as the organization grew, it has also changed a lot, from educational to advocating for policy change as well.
An important part of Rovero’s journey was always adapting to situations. For example, during the 2020 pandemic, NCAPDA had to switch from in-person presentations to virtual training sessions.
For more information, visit NCAPDA.org.
This article was written as part of a program to educate youth and others about Alameda County’s opioid crisis, prevention and treatment options. The program is funded by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department and the grant is administered by Three Valleys Community Foundation.
