ABUSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG VICODIN BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Bob Edwards, host: Health researchers say that over the past decade a
growing number of college and high school students experimented with
prescription medicines and abused them. Some students swap or sell Ritalin
to help them stay focused and awake. Another prescription drug, OxyContin,
has gotten a lot of attention lately because it's very effective for
killing pain, but potentially very dangerous when people take it to get
high. A less potent painkiller called Vicodin also is making the rounds
among young people. Youth Radio's Meena Hartenstein says at her California
high school, Vicodin is the drug of choice.

Meena Hartenstein: At my high school, it's easier to get Vicodin than
Children's Tylenol. Getting the school nurse to help you get rid of a
headache requires signing a waiver and calling your parents. Most teens
don't want to bother with that, so they grab a few painkillers from
friends. Last fall, a friend of mine had elbow surgery. He was prescribed
a lot more Vicodin than it turned out he needed, so he gave the leftover
drugs to his girlfriend, who suffers from migraines. That's how it starts.
Vicodin numbs you to the pain and soon that numb feeling is something you
want again.

At my small private school, my friends and I are always stressed about
grades and getting into college. We stay up all night doing homework or
cramming for tests. For some kids, the mellow high from Vicodin is the
perfect release from all the stress. Vicodin is prescribed to every
teen-ager I know who gets his or her wisdom teeth pulled, so a lot of kids
have easy access to it. But some never even use the pills they get. I have
a bottle sitting at home from dental surgery. I've never given it away or
sold it, but I know people who get as much as 50 bucks for their bottles of
pills. Rich kids with good reputations who wouldn't smoke pot take Vicodin
because they think it doesn't make them druggies. Vicodin is
different. It's the medication of choice for kids whose moms take Valium
to relax.

But I worry about the side effects of Vicodin, especially that nasty side
effect called addiction. And people my age know it's addictive, because we
see it on TV. We've seen that big stars like Melanie Griffith and Matthew
Perry had to go into rehab for Vicodin addiction. Even on MTV, there's
Eminem with a Vicodin tattoo.

This is not the kind of drug you find in urban settings, like the
Haight-Ashbury drug clinic in San Francisco. But Vicodin is something
school nurses across the country say they are starting to pay attention to,
along with other prescription drugs. It seems like doctors should wonder
where their pills are headed when they prescribe to teen-agers. And if you
ask me, parents should also be worrying about Vicodin. Instead of just
keeping an eye on the liquor supplies, they should also be looking in the
medicine cabinet.

Edwards: Meena Hartenstein is a high school senior who lives in Berkeley,
California. Her commentary was produced by Youth Radio.