Supporting the fight against prescription drug addiction | The Observer | Roz Rogoff | DanvilleSanRamon.com |

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By Roz Rogoff

About this blog: In January 2002 I started writing my own online "newspaper" titled "The San Ramon Observer." I reported on City Council meetings and other happenings in San Ramon. I tried to be objective in my coverage of meetings and events, and...  (More)

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Supporting the fight against prescription drug addiction

Uploaded: Nov 11, 2014
Sally and I attended the fundraiser for the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse (NCAPDA) last night. As usual I got the location wrong and gave Sally directions to Giuseppe's, but the event was held at Gianni's. So Sally drove me back home to look up the right address.

Gianni's is just up the street from Giuseppe's. It's in the building where Incontro used to be before they moved to Danville. I thought the restaurant would be closed for this special event, but it was open for regular business and full and so was the parking lot.

Sally dropped me off at the entrance to look for a parking space. The NCAPDA dinner was in a long-narrow room on the side of the building. Sally took a while to find parking and came in about ten minutes later.

There is very little soundproofing in that building. Sally had trouble hearing me with all of the chattering and clattering in the background. Ironically I could tune out the background noise with a setting on my hearing aids.

Sally ordered the salmon, which she said was very good. I like most fish but not salmon. I ordered the mushroom ravioli in cream sauce. The dinner was good, and, I was glad I wore my hearing aids.

When I got back home, I emailed April to find out how they did. She answered me this morning.

"We had around 90 people there and raised $2,600. We feel it was a very successful night and are extremely grateful to all who joined us and to Gianni's for donating our diner's tips and for supporting our local non profits in this way. Melanie let me know that over $50k has been raised through their program just this year alone. Pretty awesome.

Thanks for joining us yourself last night. It's great to reconnect with you again!"

I was glad to see April again too. I knew April from the Soroptimist. She recruited me for that organization many years ago. One of the other guests recognized me from Soroptomists too.

Soroptimist is a women's organization that provides grants for women who need financial help and sponsors an annual She's all that, conference for teen age girls.

If any of my readers were not able to attend the NCAPDA fundraiser, you can still contribute on the NCAPDA Website. Prescription drug abuse is a very serious problem.

When my car was T-boned last year while driving through the intersection of Alcosta and Bollinger Canyon, I was prescribed Hydrocodon-Acetaminophen, which is better known as Vicodin, one of the more addictive prescription pain killers.

The pain of four broken ribs and difficulty breathing was serious enough to require this kind of pain killer, but I was very, very careful not to take more than I was prescribed. I stuck to the prescription schedule even if the pain came back between doses. No way was I going to be addicted to Vicodin or any other drug.

These medicines are valuable when taken as prescribed for real medical conditions. They are not to be taken at any other time for any other reason. It took two months for my broken ribs to heal, and I have not needed Vicodin since then. I am very careful not to take anything stronger than an occasional Advil.
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Comments

Posted by Meh to prescription drugs..., a resident of Ruby Hill,
on Nov 13, 2014 at 4:47 pm

Some of the best medicines are natural remedies. However, the greatest medicine is Jesus Christ. Jesus heals us when we are sick, comforts us when we are sad, and always listens when you need a person to talk to. I say we ban all prescription drugs constructed by the devil


Posted by tinzipper, a resident of Foothill Knolls,
on Nov 21, 2014 at 10:06 am

tinzipper is a registered user.

You are a saint, Roz. Your warm glow of superiority must make the cancer stricken weep uncontrollably when confronted with their own substance addiction. Hopefully the funds can be used to buy the Pleasanton PD some tanks that they can go crashing through houses to find any evil expired prescriptions of opiates that lurk in the shadows and stalk our children. We can always use more combatants in the War on Drugs. It has been such a smashing success so far. Literally.


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