DR FEELGOOD

There are disturbing new statistics about teenage drug abuse out there,
numbers that show a new way of thinking about getting high by a new generation.

"'Generation Rx' has arrived," said Roy Bostock, chairman of the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, in a story for the New York Post.

In its new study, the group surveyed 7,300 teenagers, the largest such
sampling of attitudes toward drugs in the nation. The findings: One in five
teens have used prescription drugs as their method of choice for altering
their consciousness.

And, most of these teens are getting their fixes from the medicine cabinets
of their parents. As a society, we are either taking more of these
medications or teens are getting savvier about their potential misuses.

The survey found one in 10 teen drug users admitted recreational use of
OxyContin, Ritalin or Adderall. The latter two drugs are used commonly for
treatment of attention-deficit disorder.

One in 11 admitted to a somewhat more common trick: Using over-the-counter
medication like some cough syrups to catch a buzz, according to the survey.

The most popular target of misuse: Vicodin, a potent painkiller.

We live in a world of designer drugs like Ecstasy that exist hand in hand
with old standbys like marijuana and LSD, and crack, the main scourge of a
decade or so past. There's alcohol. Add to that the OTC and
prescription-drug trade, and those who seek to foster a high have a buffet
of options almost all of them potentially deadly.

Ease of access was cited by the survey as one of the chief reasons for
teens' choice of their drug use.

This must act as a wake-up call to parents. This is not something the
government can control any more tightly than is already being done. If
these prescriptions are written for a specific purpose, then the individual
using the medication should be in a position to know if some of it goes
missing. If they're not sure, they'd best find a way to be sure. Limiting
access is the first key. The second lies in making sure the prescriptions
are being used properly that they aren't written as a convenience by
doctors for patients who feel they need a particular medication because
they saw it hyped on TV or because it worked in the case of a friend.

Americans have a tendency to overuse medication. We see it most plainly in
the cavalier way we use antibiotics. The inappropriate use of these potent
substances has led to drug-resistant bacteria and the potential for far
more problems in the future. It's not much of a stretch to imagine that
other medications, for whatever reason, are being used inappropriately.

The survey noted dropping rates in the use of marijuana, Ecstasy and other
drugs, so we're not just doom-and-glooming here. But the survey shows that
there are reasons behind teens' use of prescription drugs, and where there
are identifiable reasons, there are solutions.

It's time we started prescribing those solutions, for the health of our kids.