PRESCRIPTION DRUGS TROUBLE WNC YOUTH

Stats Show Higher Use Than Elsewhere In N.C.

ASHEVILLE- Youth in Western North Carolina appear to have a serious
prescription drug problem.

More WNC high school students reported taking prescription drugs
without a doctor's permission than students in any other region of the
state. About 25 percent of WNC high schoolers said they have used
medicine such as OxyContin, Percocet, Adderall or Xanax for
recreational use one or more times during their life, compared to
about 17 percent in the central and eastern regions of the state,
according to a 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by N.C.
Healthy Schools.

The report points to a dangerous and growing trend among area teens to
turn to their parents' medicine cabinets to deal with their feelings
and get high. The trend has already claimed the life of an Erwin High
student and left a father with a personal mission to educate the
community. "These kids, they are getting these prescription drugs out
of their medicine cabinets," said Will Chapman, whose 17-year-old son,
Matthew, died a week ago after placing a fentanyl painkiller patch on
each arm and drinking a bottle of alcohol. "What I want these parents
to get is that it can be happening right under their noses, and you
don't know what's going on," Chapman said.

Pills widely available Painkillers, like the one that took the life of
Matthew Chapman, are the most frequently abused prescription drugs
among teens. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, 52,000 North Carolinians ages 12-17 used a pain
reliever for nonmedical reasons. The widespread availability of these
medications may be one reason teens are abusing them at high rates.
Retail sales of prescription painkillers more than doubled in WNC over
an eight-year period. In fact, sales of painkillers were higher in WNC
and in North Carolina than the national average. "We have a much older
population in Western North Carolina than, say, in
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, where the over-65 population is around 9
percent," said Dr. Paul Martin, head of the Asheville Buncombe Drug
Commission and a specialist in addiction medication. "In Western North
Carolina, it's 19 percent. We have more than double the Medicare
population than Charlotte. There's probably more availability of
prescriptions because of all the people that are on them."

Teenagers may take these drugs if they are feeling stressed or
anxious. "It's escape from whatever feeling they have right now,"
Martin said. "It does cause a euphoric sense of well-being. It can
cause relaxation. The unfortunate thing is they become addicted to
them, and then the reason to keep taking them is to keep off the
withdrawal."

The younger students are when they start abusing drugs, the easier it
will be for them to become addicted, Martin said.

A lack of knowledge about the dangers of prescription drugs and a
culture where it's acceptable to take a pill to fix many problems is a
large part of the issue, experts said.

Illusion of safety Often children think that prescription medications
are safer than illegal drugs because they are prescribed by a doctor,
can be purchased at a pharmacy and are taken by their parents. The
fact that these drugs are legal and commonly used makes them less
scary to children. "I think that the teenagers, they honestly believe
these drugs can provide a medically safe type of high," said Debbie
Bryant, safe and drug-free schools coordinator for Buncombe County
Schools. "Their concept is, 'How bad can these be if a physician is
prescribing them for some type of illness?' They think that these are
much safer than the ... illegal drugs they get off the streets."
Television and magazines ads for prescription drugs also send mixed
messages to children, said Danielle Arias, interim director of
prevention services for ARP/Phoenix, which provides substance-abuse
services in WNC. "When you think about mass marketing of prescription
drugs, it has only increased in the last 10 years," she said. "When
you see people on your television that are shiny and happy and using
these drugs, it does send a message that they are harmless. We assume
kids know they are not supposed to take parents' medication, but when
do they learn that? How do we know that?" Many young people turn to
prescription medications to deal with problems they don't know how to
control. Teaching children how to solve problems and deal with
uncomfortable feelings can keep them from turning to drugs to manage
those emotions.

Making sure the lines of communication are open can also be helpful.
Officials advised using teachable moments - such as picking up a
prescription, watching a TV ad for prescription medicine or taking a
prescription to treat an illness - as the perfect time to talk to
children about the dangers of medicine.

"If you are hanging out and yet another commercial comes on, strike up
the conversation," said Michele Lemell, safe and drug-free schools
coordinator for Asheville City Schools. "Say things like, 'What do you
think about that?' and then continue the conversation with, 'Did you
know this drug has a lot of side effects they don't mention on the
commercial?' I think a lot of parents feel uncomfortable just striking
up these conversations, but there are so many ways to do it."

Little things like throwing away old medications, keeping track of how
many pills are in the bottle and locking away unsafe medication can
also prevent kids from getting their hands on prescription drugs,
officials said. Warning signs While Matthew Chapman had had problems
with drugs in the past, his father realized he needed to take drastic
action only a few days before his son passed away. Usually an
outgoing, energetic teenager, Matthew was acting lethargic. When he
wasn't down, he was really up, Chapman said. "The real indication that
Matthew was getting out of control started about a week ago," Chapman
said Thursday, five days after his son died. "He was either very, very
down or very, very up - meaning just shaking, going through stuff,
couldn't sit still. I started suspecting the last two or three times
I'd seen him in the last week that he was getting out of control."
Changes in normal behavior, sleep patterns, friends and dress can be a
sign that something is going on.

School efforts School officials are hoping positive behavior programs
will keep children away from their parents' medicine cabinets. There
are several programs in local schools that try to teach students how
to make good decisions and deal with peer pressure.

Students are also educated about the dangers of prescription drugs and
how medicine should be treated in health and physical education
classes in middle school and ninth grade. Elementary school students
get it from their classroom teacher. Both Asheville City and Buncombe
County Schools are considering bringing in local pharmacists to talk
to parent groups about prescription drug abuse.

"It's basically geared toward helping kids be more aware of the kind
of red-flag behavior, negative behavior that occurs," Arias said.
"Building skills, peer resistance skills, social, emotional
development skills, because those have been proven to prevent and help
reduce risk factors. ARP/Phoenix runs programs in both school
districts geared at delaying early drug use." After noticing drastic
changes in his son's behavior, Will Chapman began gathering a group of
family members and close friends to intervene. He planned for them to
talk to his son about the direction of his life and the need to turn
it around on Thursday. Matthew Chapman died four days before that
conversation was scheduled to happen.

If a child is suspected of using prescription drugs, Martin said the
first thing you should do is take them to a professional. Even if they
resist, trying to handle the situation on your own can mean the loss
of an important opportunity, he said.

"I talked to his mom last Friday about it and started to talk to the
friends of the family and stuff, and by today I had planned on doing
an intervention group with him, but I was too late," Will Chapman said
Thursday. "That's really a tragic thing."