Page 25 | ABUSE Magazine
Source: www.drugfree.org
abusemagazine.org
Preventing Teen Abuse
of Prescription Drugs
The longer term, prescription opioids
(pain relievers) and other prescription medicines are potentially addictive.
Coming to rely at a young age on prescription medicine (or any drug) to
manage your life, risks establishing
a lifelong pattern of dependency and
limitation and prevents learning coping skills.
WHERE ARE TEENS GETTING THESE
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?
The vast majority of teens abusing prescription drugs are getting
them from the medicine cabinets of
friends, family and acquaintances.
Some teens traffic among themselves
handing out or selling extra pills of
their own, or pills they’ve acquired
or stolen from classmates. A very
small minority of teens say they get
their prescription drugs illicitly from
doctors, pharmacists or over the internet.
ARE PARENTS EDUCATING THEIR
CHILDREN ABOUT THE RISKS OF
THIS BEHAVIOR?
Research shows that parents are not
communicating the risks of prescription drug abuse to their children as
often as they talk about illegal drugs.
This is partly because some parents are unaware of the behavior (it
wasn’t as prevalent when they were
teenagers), and partly because those
who are aware of teen abuse of medicine tend to underestimate the risks
just as teens do. Finally, a recent
study showed that 28% of parents
have themselves taken a prescription
drug without having a prescription for
it themselves. This is not necessarily
abuse, but it sets a dangerous example for kids, that the recommended
dosage of prescriptions need not be
strictly followed.
WHAT SHOULD PARENTS DO?
1. Educate yourselves!
2. Communicate the risks of prescription drug abuse to your kids. Children
who learn a lot about the risks of drugs
are up to 50% less likely to use drugs.
3. Safeguard your own medicines.
Keep prescription medicine in a secure place, count and monitor the
number of pills you have.