The Maryland State Department of Education is working to prevent the misuse and abuse of opioids. This is a student-centered lesson for the 9-12 grade band. This lesson can be modified or remixed to meet the needs of the students you teach.  The content of this lesson includes students identifying and analyzing influences that could lead to drug use. Students are then tasked with forming strategies to overcome factors and influences that could lead to drug use.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Neuropathic pain is a constant struggle for tens of millions of people worldwide. While opioids remain the dominant treatment option for pain relief, their severe side effects have scientists and patients searching for new solutions. One team is exploring the benefits of L-corydalmine. an extract from Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang, a traditional Chinese herb. Experiments revealed that L-corydalmine reduced the expression of nerve growth factor, or NGF. Immune cells secrete NGF as they’re recruited to the site of nerve injury, which then activates pathways that signal pain to the brain. In rats, L-corydalmine blocked NGF from activating the MAPK pathway, which reduced symptoms of nerve pain in rats. This is the first experimental evidence that the herbal extract can relieve neuropathic pain in this manner, making L-corydalmine a promising therapeutic worthy of further study..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In A Plaguing Problem, students need to reconstruct lost knowledge about pain relieving drugs. They learn about concepts such as neurotransmission, the neurobiology and history underlying drug addiction, pain management, and analgesia. This game consists of three consecutive episodes with a continuous storyline and we recommend playing the episodes in order.

The Maryland State Department of Education is working to prevent the misuse and abuse of opioids. This is a student-centered lesson for the 3-5 grade band. This lesson can be modified or remixed to meet the needs of the students you teach. The content of this lesson includes teaching students by definition what is prescription medicine and non-prescription medicine and emphasizing that medication, whether it is prescription or non-prescription, should be administered in the presence of a trusted adult. Students are also required to examine Drug Fact Labels and demonstrate understanding of the information found on the Drug Fact Labels.