PARENTS' PRESCRIPTION DRUGS POSE RISK TO TEENS

Parents who don't safeguard their medications are putting their
teenagers at serious risk of addiction to prescription drugs,
according to a national survey.

The survey, released Thursday by the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse, found that parents are dropping the ball on
preventing their kids from using drugs, drinking and smoking.
Teenagers surveyed said it's easier to buy narcotics than beer. Nearly
half the 17-year-olds in the survey said they have at least one friend
who abuses prescription drugs.

By overlooking the dangers posed in the medicine cabinet, parents in
effect become "passive pushers," said Joseph Califano Jr., chairman
and president of the center. The study surveyed 1,002 youths ages 12
to 17 along with more than 300 of their parents between April and June.

The study found that more than a third of the prescription drugs
illegally obtained by teens came from their homes.

Evidence of the Problem

Health experts not involved in the survey agree that teenagers raiding
the family medicine cabinet are a growing problem - many youths
quickly become hooked on such powerful opiates as Vicodin and
OxyContin. Studies show that opiates trail only marijuana as the most
commonly abused class of illegal drugs among adolescents.

While illegal drug use among teenagers has dropped by 25 percent since
2001, the number of teens using Vicodin has not budged, and the number
of teens using OxyContin has risen by 25 percent, according to
statistics kept by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"This has quietly and insidiously grown into a big problem," said Tom
Riley, a spokesman for the agency. "It's not a creepy guy in an
overcoat pushing drugs - this is about medications that are in your
home. Prescription drugs are the drug of choice for teens who are
trying drugs for the first time. They are getting drugs from their
parents' or their grandparents' medicine cabinets."

Mill Valley physician Howard Kornfeld began to see the upturn several
years ago.

"More and more, they are coming in strung out on prescription pill
opiates," said Kornfeld, an assistant clinical professor at the UCSF
School of Medicine who for 20 years has specialized in addiction and
pain treatment. About five years ago, Kornfeld developed a program,
Recovery Without Walls, for patients to detox and begin life anew
without drugs or alcohol.

The problem is not limited to the drugs found at home.

In an effort to better control online drug sales, Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., is sponsoring legislation to require businesses
that distribute controlled substances through the Internet to register
with the Drug Enforcement Administration. The bill passed in the
Senate in April and awaits a vote in the House. The bill was prompted
by the fatal Vicodin overdose of Ryan Haight, a 17-year-old in San
Diego who bought the painkiller online.

"Teenagers and young people across the country can often get dangerous
drugs on the Internet," Feinstein said. "We need to stop it, and this
bill would be a major step forward."

Teens are particularly vulnerable to addiction, said San Francisco
psychologist Dean Blumberg, a program manager with Kaiser Permanente's
Chemical Dependency Recovery Program.

"The brain isn't fully formed until age 24," he said. "You can get
addicted anytime, but the two most vulnerable times are adolescence
and old age."

"A lot of parents aren't very aware - often they are the last to know.
Many parents don't get their teens to us until their senior year of
high school - then they lament not bringing them in when they are 15
or 16."

Warning Signs of Abuse

Blumberg says that some warning signs of substance abuse can initially
appear to be the hallmarks of adolescence: mood swings, irritability,
altered sleep patterns. But chronic drug users, he said, have more
telltale symptoms that parents should heed: groggy demeanor, pinpoint
pupils, nasal irritation, weight loss, paranoia, depression, truancy,
falling grades.

Peter Koo, a clinical professor of pharmacy at the UCSF Medical
Center, said much of the problem can be pinned on people who are
careless about unused medications.

"They tend to forget the pills are in there, or they feel they paid
for them and don't want to toss them," he said. "It's an invitation if
a teenager is looking for drugs. Teenagers are prone to
experimentation, and having the medication in the home makes it easier
because it is free. We need to make parents more accountable to their
medications - when you are done with them, throw them out."

In similarly urging parents to pay closer heed, the National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse prescribes some old-fashioned remedies
including better monitoring of kids on school nights and more time
around the family dinner table.

"Preventing substance abuse among teens is primarily a mom-and-pop
operation," said Califano. "It is inexcusable that there are so many
problem parents who don't try harder, who fail to appropriately
monitor their children on school nights, fail to keep dangerous
prescription drugs out of their reach, and tolerate drug-infected
schools for their children."

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SAFEGUARDING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS:

Tips for parents from the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign

Keep track: Take note of how many pills are in a bottle or pill
packet, and keep track of refills.

Set rules: Set clear rules for teens about all drug use, including not
sharing medicine and always following the medical provider's advice
and dosage.

Follow rules: Be a good role model by following these rules with your
own medicines.

Dispose of them properly: Properly conceal and dispose of old or
unused medicines in the trash.

Spread the word: Ask friends and family to safeguard their
prescription drugs.