Are You Your Teenager’s Best Drug Dealer?

This is the third in a series of three articles on drug abuse by Dr. Brottman. Dr. B serves as the physician liaison for the "Link Together" coalition, a community based group comprised of schools, park districts, libraries, law enforcement, business, faith groups, local government and independent citizens. Link Together has a Illinois Department of Human Services grant to decrease youth substance abuse in Wheeling Township.

Prescription drugs and narcotics are prescribed freely in our society today. When we are given a script, we often do not finish all of the “pain” pills, but we save them, “just in case” we need them in the future. Where do we store these potentially dangerous drugs? We usually keep them in our open unlocked medicine cabinets in the bathroom where anyone, including your children’s friends, can access them. By the way, in the hospital setting, these same drugs are “locked up” to prevent such abuse.

Research indicates that as many as one in five teens say they have taken a prescription drug without having a prescription for it themselves.  Every day, 2,100 teenagers use a prescription drug for non-medical use for the first time. Many teenagers mistakenly believe prescription drugs are safer than “street drugs” because they are medicine prescribed by a physician.

According to a Partnership for a Drug Free America survey, two in five teens felt prescription medicines, even if not prescribed by a doctor, were “much safer” to use than illegal drugs. And nearly one-third of those teens believed there was “nothing wrong” with using prescription medicines without a prescription “once in a while.”

But when used to get high, prescription medications are every bit as dangerous as “street drugs.”

Overdosing (especially on prescription pain relievers such as Vicodin, Percocet, Loritab, and others) can be fatal.

Ask your high school or college student about Adderall (an ADD medicine). I personally knew of a student who financed a significant portion of her college education on Adderall sales, until she was arrested.

What can you do about this? Talk to your children about these dangers. If you need to store these potentially dangerous drugs in your home, lock them up for the protection of others. Dispose of expired or unused medications at your local pharmacy. Almost all of them have a take back program to get rid of these substances.

Link Together – Supporting Drug and Alcohol Free Youth

Ref: Growing Up Drug Free, A Parent’s Guide to Prevention U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Education October 2012