'PHARM' ABUSE COMMON AMONG TEENS

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University in New York recently released a survey, which shows more
teens are abusing prescription medication than virtually any other
drug. Data from the Partnership for a Drug Free America's annual
tracking study suggests: - One in five teens has abused a prescription
pain medication. - One in five reports abusing prescription stimulants
and tranquilizers. - One in 10 has abused cough medication.

The report found that children, as young as 12 years of age, are
experimenting with prescription drugs non-medically to "get high" or
to "self-medicate." It is frightening that teens seem to think taking
prescription drugs is safer.

In the Rowan-Salisbury School System, we are finding more and more
students, both middle and high school students, not only misusing
these prescription drugs, but also selling them to classmates. It has
become a very serious problem for our schools and for our community,
and it is happening on a regular basis. It is occurring in all social,
economic, geographic and ethnic groups.

Students are choosing prescription drugs because they are more easily
available, often stolen from the medicine cabinet at home. Students
make the mistake of assuming doctor-prescribed drugs are safer than
drugs bought on the streets. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Some students are using online pharmacies to obtain dangerous and
addictive drugs. The Internet has proved to be an easy, accessible
method of obtaining medicine. Students often mix several different
medications together without having any idea of what they are doing.
Students may even crush the pills and "snort" them to have an more
intensified effect. Students can find prescription drugs in the homes
of their relatives or their friends. It is not unusual for students to
share drugs with their friends. Painkillers are the most common
prescription drugs used and sold by teens, such as codeine, OxyContin,
Vicodin and Demerol. A large single dose of these drugs can cause
severe respiratory depression or even death in teens. Other
prescription drugs that are commonly abused are stimulants, sedatives
and tranquilizers.

Some over-the-counter products are also being used for non-medical
reasons, such as cough and cold medicines. Two additional drugs that
are being misused in our community are Ritalin and Xanax.

A number of teens have indicated that they have participated in "pharm
parties." Pharm is short for pharmaceuticals and "pharming" is
collecting pills from the family medicine chest. At pharming parties,
teens will bring various prescription drugs to the party and everyone
will toss the pills into a bowl. Teens will then take fistfuls of the
drugs without having any idea as to the kind of medication that they
may be taking. Students can become addicted to prescription
medication. Drug addiction happens in stages. Only a trained health
professional can accurately assess and offer the best treatment to be
used. Some prescription drugs need to be stopped slowly to be sure
withdrawal is safe.

What can parents do to help? Parents need to look for signs and
symptoms of drug use. Short-term effects that have been reported are
headaches, loss of coordination, impaired judgment, loss of
consciousness, panic attacks, dizziness and nausea.

Long-term effects could be addiction, insomnia, restlessness or even
death, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance
Use. Parents need to talk to their children about the dangers
associated with taking prescription and over-the-counter medications
without doctors' knowledge. It is important that parents keep a
watchful eye on all medications in the home and notice if any are
missing. Any medications that are no longer being used should be
destroyed. Medications should be kept in a safe place, not accessible
to teens or young children in the household. Ask friends and
relatives, especially grandparents, to make sure that their
prescription drugs are not located in an accessible place. We must all
work together to be vigilant in helping our students know and
understand how to keep safe from harmful medications.

Dr. Judy Grissom is superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury School
System.