TEEN DRUG ABUSE

Prescription Medicines A Growing Problem

Surveys have shown a decline in illegal drug use by teenagers in
recent years, but many of the same surveys have also shown an
increase in the teens abusing prescription drugs.

And that may continue to rise.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University asked teens what they found easier to buy: cigarettes,
beer, marijuana or prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet,
Vicodin or Ritalin.

Nearly a quarter of the 12- to 17-year-olds answered marijuana and cigarettes.

However, 19 percent of the teens said they could obtain prescription
drugs easier than marijuana, cigarettes and even beer. That is up
from 13 percent a year ago and more than the 15 percent who said beer
was easiest to obtain.

Forty-three percent of the 17-year-olds questioned said they could
obtain marijuana within an hour, but other teens may be turning to
prescription drugs for their availability at home especially as
anti-drug efforts focus on the illegal sources.

Drug counselors put a great deal of responsibility, or blame, for the
problem on parents. The survey noted that half the teens said they
were out on school nights although just 14 percent of the parents
knew their children were out.

The survey did not ask why teens are turning to prescription drugs,
but misconceptions about their safety is one explanation.

"Kids think that because these are medicines that are prescribed,
they are safe," said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute
on Drug Abuse. "The problem is that there is very little difference
between the amount they take for a high and the amount that causes an
overdose."

Getting that message out is the responsibility of parents as well as
drug abuse and prevention programs.