As part of the third annual Prescription Drug Awareness Week, presented by the Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center (CADEC), Chico State is full of signage with shocking statistics about the harm that comes from the misuse of prescription drugs.

In addition to the signs, CADEC peer educators tabled all week in The Gauntlet and Trinity Commons as part of an initiative to spread awareness to students about potential consequences of substance abuse.

Part of the outreach this week was the installment on The Gauntlet lawn on Monday of 170 chairs representing one-tenth of the 1,700 people age 18-24 years old that die each year from prescription drug overdose.

“More people in the United States die now from drug overdoses than from car accidents, and that’s largely because of the growth and expansion of prescription drug abuse and misuse,” said Trisha Seastrom, CADEC program director. “We want to educate students, so if you decide to make that choice, at least you’re making an informed choice. We’re also providing a venue where they can ask questions, or if they’re worried about a friend they can talk to us about that.”

Christine Zuniga can be reached at [email protected] or @kissssteen on Twitter.