U.S. schools turn to new programs to warn teens of drug risks
(This version of the story changes name from Christopher to Kris in 17th paragraph) By Laila Kearney DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) – The desperate cry of a mother finding her 17-year-old son dead from a painkiller and another prescription drug instantly silences hundreds of Pennsylvania high school students who listen to her 911 call played at an early morning assembly. "All these kids were around our age, said Michael Senn, an 18-year-old senior at the school Downingtown High School East, after the program. "It felt personal." Senn and his classmates had just sat through a presentation by Narcotics Overdose Prevention and Education, or NOPE, one of a handful of prevention programs cropping up around the United States offering high school and middle school students education about prescription opiate painkillers.
