This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
How do Five Moms and three mommy bloggers end up on Capitol Hill discussing bills with Congressmen and Senators???
The Power of Moms…
As mothers we are teachers, protectors, advocates, and so much more for our children. We are powerful. We can change the world. In fact, everyday we change the worlds of our kids.
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) recognizes the powerful impact mothers have on their children and the world, so they ensured that mothers played a pivotal role in their fight to stop over-the-counter (OTC) drug abuse.
They developed a team called Five Moms to help spread the word to other mothers about the very real dangers of cough medicine abuse. Five Moms is made up of five mothers who have been touched personally by drug abuse and who are passionate about helping parents protect their children from OTC drug abuse.
In addition to creating the Five Moms website, the CHPA has developed another excellent resource for parents called www.stopmedicineabuse.org.
And the CHPA is reaching out to mom bloggers, to help get the message out to all parents about the dangers in their medicine cabinets and lining the drugstore shelves. Cough medicine can be abused, and kids are spreading the word online about how to do it! So we moms need to do the same — use the internet to get the information to other parents.
On Capitol Hill…
The CHPA isn’t stopping at education, they are also trying to get legislature to help reduce the abuse of dextromethorphan, the ingredient in OTC cough medicines that people use to get high.
The CHPA is working to help bring attention to a bill, sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), prohibiting OTC cough medicine sales to minors, and a bill restricting sales of raw dextromethorphan, introduced by Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Representative Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) which if enacted, would ensure that only legitimate entities registered with FDA or relevant state agencies can purchase raw, unfinished dextromethorphan, the most dangerous form of the ingredient when abused. Currently, there are no national sales or purchase restrictions for dextromethorphan in this form.
To put a face to the cause, and of course to help spread the message, CHPA brought the Five Moms and three of us mom bloggers, (Jenn, Caroline and myself,) to meet with staff members on Capitol Hill.
And, in addition to the Five Moms and us mommy bloggers, Dr. Drew Pinsky, (aka Dr. Drew from Celebrity Rehab,) also joined us to bring attention to the cause of DXM abuse. (Meeting Dr. Drew Pinsky was an honor — I sat next to him at dinner the night before and he generously answered all of Caroline, Jenn and my questions about abuse, addiction, and even some personal questions we threw his way!)
For our day on Capitol Hill, we broke up into groups, and moved from office to office, shaking hands and discussing the bills. In all, the participating members of Senate and Congress were:
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Due to their busy schedules, in some cases we met with their legislative assistants. But we did personally meet with with Representative Fred Upton and Senator Chuck Grassley. The photo below shows our group, including Dr. Drew Pinsky, with Representative Fred Upton.
Both Representative Fred Upton and Senator Chuck Grassley, as parents themselves, were passionate about the issue and encouraged us to continue making our voices heard!
What You Can Do!
At times, we may feel powerless in the face of drug abuse and addiction statistics. But there are important steps we can take to make a difference for our children.
First, we need to listen and talk to our children! The most important thing we can do as parents is to keep open lines of communication with our kids. Children of all ages MUST feel that they have a safe place to come with their questions, problems, concerns and fears.
Second, we must educate ourselves! We need to know the facts, the trends and the signs. Go to www.stopmedicineabuse.org and www.fivemoms.com. Know what is in your medicine cabinet and look for this new icon on medicine labels, warning parents if the product contains DXM.
Third, we have to email or write our Representatives and Senators about our concerns regarding the abuse of DXM in OTC cough medicines. But, if you sometimes feel like an email doesn’t make much of a difference, guess what???
I ASKED Senator Grassley about that very concern! I told him that I personally feel like one letter or email feels futile in the huge world of lawmaking. He responded with a report he had on his desk about how many letters and emails his office receives and how many per month they answer.
Senator Grassley told me that his staff IS reading and listening to our letters and emails and he emphatically encouraged me to tell you to write your Representatives and Senators. HE needs your help to get support for these bills. He can’t do it without support from his fellow Senators! So start typing people!!!
In fact, after our meeting was over, one of his legaslative assistants came over and reiterated to Caroline and me that they are definitely listening! Write letters and emails. Write blog posts. You ARE being heard!
And to conclude, some video for you…
Before we even started our day on Capitol Hill, Dr. Drew and Five Moms member, Misty Fetko, sat down for 39 live interviews during a Satellite Media Tour to highlight the issue of cough medicine abuse. Here is one of those segments here:
Also, as I told you in a post a few weeks ago, two years ago, I was honored to interview Hilda from Five Moms and Mimi from CHPA about how the Five Moms is taking action to help make moms aware of cough medicine abuse.
This time, at the end of our incredible, busy 24 hours in Washington DC, I had a chance to grab a quick interview (with a Flip!) with Misty Fetko, the newest member of Five Moms and a registered nurse who lost her son to an overdose of DXM, (the active ingredient in cough medicine.) Misty’s story is so tragic — but she is using her pain to help reach other parents! Thank you Misty!!!
We are also talking about OTC drug abuse over at Say it Face to Face.com. So grab your Flip or start your web cam and join the conversation!
To see more of my photos from Capitol Hill, check our Flickr stream
Note: The CHPA covered my travel and hotel expenses to travel to Washington but did not pay me to cover this story. I am writing because I believe in educating parents about OTC drug abuse. My opinions and posts are completely my own.
Shan says
What an awesome cause to help promote! I am annoyed at having to show my ID to get OTC cold meds for my FOUR year old…all because meth addicts/dealers use them to create their drugs. UGGHH.
I wish it didn’t have to be this way and I wish more parents were more educated about kids using seemingly innocuous OTC medicines to get high. When I was in high school, eons ago, there were some kids who used Robitussin to get high. They would either drink it straight or mix it with soda and walk around with it all day long. ANd the teachers and parent were oblivious to it all.
So cool that you met Dr. Drew. I have been listening to gim ob LoveLines on KROQ since I was 13. LOL Now I feel really old because I can remember when he had blonde hair!!
Stephanie says
It’s so wonderful to see moms impacting legislation in this way! I was especially heartened by Senator Grassley’s response to your question about letters/e-mails being “lost” in the “huge world of lawmaking.” Your post has inspired me to write my local representatives about several issues that I care about. Thank you.
Side note: I think it is funny that you are up lobbying for bills on Capitol Hill when you are from Canada. 😉 I am 100% confident that you are a phenomenal representative for moms (Truly! You are intelligent, influential, and innovative! A strong leader and an eloquent spokesperson!), but that thought struck me nevertheless.
TerritoryMom says
Great job ladies!! I kept help to notice the look of satisfaction on Dr. Drew’s face surrounded by beautiful women.
Janice says
Thanks Organizing Mommy!
Forgetfulone – I am soooo sorry that you and your daughter had to go through such a terrifying experience!!! I hope she is okay and that she is able to move forward in a positive direction. You are right, we need to know that our teens are doing to get high and to kill themselves. God Bless!!!
Organizing Mommy says
What an honor and a calling! Good job, gals.
Forgetfulone says
What strikes a chord for me is the portion of the post about stopping medicine abuse. My oldest step-daughter overdosed on prescription medicine last week. She was lucky to be found while she was still alive. Parents and doctors need more education about what teens are doing to get high and to kill themselves – legal over the counter and/or prescription drugs that never should have been given to an 18 year old regardless of whether they are an “adult” or not. Common sense! Education! Go Five Moms!
Nell says
Very interesting! How awesome to see you two involved.
And hey, that Dr. Drew is one sexy man. I’m envious you got to sit with him! 😉
Nell
Susan says
I’m so glad to hear that the manufacturers are now putting a warning icon on the labels of cough medications.
We just must ensure every parent knows about this type of drug abuse.