Center to memorialize local overdose victim Jason Surks, 19, died last year due to his abuse of prescription drugs BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer Jason Surks The abuse of prescription drugs can be just as deadly as with illegal drugs. The reality of that lesson is as clear to Linda Surks, public information coordinator for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) of Middlesex County, as it is to anyone. Surks thought her job provided all she needed to know about the abuse of drugs — that was until her 19-year-old son, Jason, died of an accidental overdose of Xanax last December. Jason had been buying the anti-anxiety medication along with the painkiller OxyContin on the Internet, unbeknown to his parents. This Sunday at noon, the NCADD will dedicate and rename its East Brunswick prevention center in Jason’s memory. It will now be known as the Jason Surks Memorial Prevention Resource Center. The NCADD, formed in 1980, provides information regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The center distributes more than 50,000 pieces of literature each year; loans out more than 170 videos; provides education and training to more than 3,000 people; and conducts public awareness campaigns throughout the year. Jason will be remembered in part because of his mother’s involvement with the NCADD, but so many other victims of drugs will be forgotten. "[Jason] was abusing primarily prescription medicines," said Linda, who lives in the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick. "As parents, we knew nothing until [his death]." Jason did not seem like a drug user. He was described as smart, good looking, and humorous, with a terrific social life. "He had a buddy list [on AOL] a mile long and a cell phone bill that required a part-time job," his father Mark wrote in a brochure about the upcoming dedication. Despite growing up in a happy and enriching environment with a strong religious and moral compass, a variety of factors in life had somehow given Jason a sense of invincibility, his parents said. He had a lack of appreciation of risk. A pre-pharmacy major at Rutgers University at the time of his death, Jason thought he knew how to handle the drugs, his mother said. This led to him ordering the drugs over the Internet from a Mexican pharmacy Web site. He had never been prescribed either of the two drugs, which he used solely for recreational use. "We don’t know how he started," Linda said. "I can speculate it was an attractive recreational act." Ironically, Linda works for a group that aims to prevent just such occurrences. She said one of the points she makes with people is that if she can be fooled into thinking her child is clean, anyone can. She said the NCADD provides all sorts of educational materials for people who live or work in Middlesex County. It provides information to community groups and residents, does professional training and provides a hotline. "It’s a service we have always provided," she said. "A lot of people don’t even know about it. We have a lot of information, including video lending and a reference library." The center, at 385 Route 18, Suite D, houses tens of thousands of free brochures, pamphlets and other educational materials related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Topics range from addiction to workplace issues, and cover all age ranges. Reference material is also available at the center. The reports, materials and statistics are often used by students doing research, teachers preparing lessons, and municipal drug alliances working on needs assessments. As examples of some of the statistics, approximately 6.2 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2002, and 13.7 percent of youths between the ages of 12 and 17 have abused prescription drugs at least once in their life. "It is my hope that this will bring attention to a serious problem in our community," Linda said of the dedication. "Kids believe they are invincible, and my family is here to tell you that [kids] are not. This can happen to anyone." Linda said it is possible her son obtained some of the drugs on the streets of Newark. She said friends of his had become worried shortly before he died because they felt he was taking too many pills. He promised them he would not take any more. "They believe he lost track of what he was taking," she said. The Web site from which he obtained the drugs did not offer a discount, but did make the drugs available without a prescription, Linda said. The upcoming ceremony coincides with the week of what would have been Jason’s 20th birthday. The event will include speeches from Jason’s parents and is expected to feature appearances by U.S. Congressman Rush Holt and state Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, along with Scott Burns, deputy director of state and local affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. There will also be a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a tour of the facility and the presentation of a plaque. To contact the NCADD’s Middlesex County chapter, call (732) 254-3344.