Highland Park Hockey Hosts Charity Match to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse

HIGHLAND PARK, IL - Nearly ten years losing their son to an overdose of Oxycontin, David and Gail Katz, of Highland Park, continue to fight to save others from falling victim to the epidemic prescription drug abuse. In 2007, they founded Save A Star, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping raise awareness and spread information about the dangers of highly addictive pharmaceuticals. Their foundation partners with the DEA, educational and community groups, including North Shore schools.

This Tuesday, Save a Star and the Highland Park Giants varsity hockey team will hold their annual tribute home game against New Trier White. The match is in memory of their son, Daniel, a 2000 graduate of Highland Park High School who played hockey all four years.

In addition to the yearly match, the foundation provides drug disposal boxes at police stations around Lake and Cook counties where people can drop off unused or unfinished bottles of medication to get it out of their medicine cabinets and away from the hands of kids.

In Highland Park alone, Save a Star has collected more than 15,000 pounds of pills, enough to fill two entire gymnasiums, David Katz told Patch.

"Prescription pills are killing more of our youth today than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and inhalants combined," Katz said. Despite its contribution to increased demand for black market opiates, the prescription drug abuse epidemic has sometimes been overshadowed by a focus on illegal narcotics.

Katz said many kids get started on drugs like Oxycontin and quickly become addicted. Then, because of high street prices for the pharmaceutical, "when they run out of money, then they go for a $6 to $10 bag of black tar heroin," he added.

The 9th Annual Special Tribute Hockey Game is scheduled for 8:50 pm, January 31st, at Centennial Ice Arena in Highland Park. Admission to the event is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students, and all proceeds benefit Save a Star's drug collection and disposal programs.