Tackling Prescription Drug Abuse Main Topic In State Of The City Address

City leaders are said they are going to start tackling the huge prescription drug abuse problem in Tulsa; the mayor talked about in in his State of the City Address Wednesday and announced a new initiative beginning in a couple of months.

Tulsa Mayor, Dewey Bartlett, addressed a wide variety of issues in his State of the City address, but one that stuck out was a question about prescription drug abuse in our community.

Crime statistics in the city of Tulsa may be on the way down, but Bartlett said that doesn't mean things like prescription drug abuse aren't a problem.

"Surveys have shown that the city and county of Tulsa is one of the worst, has one of the worst prescription drug abuse and binge drinking, alcohol abuse, so we have to do something about it. We can't ignore it,” he said.

According to recent statistics released by the State legislature, Oklahoma ranks in the top ten for deaths caused by prescription painkillers. It also has one of the highest rates of prescription narcotics sales.

That's why Bartlett said the city will be hosting a series of summits starting in October geared at finding the cause.

"That is the question, I wonder why. I wonder why just us, I wonder why other communities, other states, don't have the high incidents that we in Tulsa have. We need to deal with it, and deal with it to bring it to an end,” Bartlett said.

He believes prescription drug abuse could be at the core of other crimes in the community.

“Those types of abuse usually lead to other bad things. Usually a violent action, spousal abuse, murder, homicide, all sorts of things that are not necessarily in the best interest of our city,” said Bartlett.

The mayor also talked about enhancing education, river development and public safety.

He talked about extending a portion of the vision 2025 sales tax; he said that would allow them to add 70 more police officers and 34 more firefighters and would also allow the fire department to build a new fire station in east Tulsa.

Bartlett also said that some Tulsa area high school students will be getting some new opportunities in aviation and mechanics, announcing two new education initiatives during his speech Wednesday.

Bartlett said Tulsa Public Schools, Tulsa Tech and Spartan College have agreed on a partnership to create a new aviation academy with one campus at Tulsa International Airport and the other at Jones Riverside airport.

The agreement needs board approval, but the plans are already in place on how to get students involved.

"They can actually go out and work next to people working on airplanes. They'll see them, they'll feel them, they'll understand them and they'll get excited about it,” Bartlett said.

He also talked about a new partnership with Union High School The city's maintenance facility will offer internships and a potential auto mechanic certification to interested students there.