The Covington County Children’s Policy Council Coalition recently honored local pharmacist Charles Smith for his contribution to the fight against prescription pill abuse.
Director Susan Short said that Smith was awarded the Dose of Prevention award from the organization.
“We honored Charles Smith because he and Pharmacare have been proactive in trying to combat prescription pill abuse and misuse,” she said. “On their own, they started to do school programs, starting in kindergarten and going through 12th grade. We appreciate that they are doing this since it aligns with our goals.”
Short said that they contacted the policy council in January.
“They knew we worked with trying to prevent it,” she said. “They are using a curriculum through a pharmaceutical company called Generation RX.”
Short said she thought it was amazing what they are doing.
“It’s amazing that they branched out to help communities,” she said. “As a pharmacist, he sees it as a problem. Medicine is for sick people. If you aren’t sick, you don’t need to take medication.”
Short said that Smith pays Kim Matthews to lead the program in the schools.
“We have invited them to go to Opp High School in October,” she said. “