Prescription Drug Awareness
Prescription drug abuse is not a new problem, but it is one that deserves renewed attention. According to data reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in December 2011, prescription and over-the-counter medications account for most of the commonly abused illicit drugs by high school seniors.
For example, nearly 1 in 12 high school seniors reported non-medical use of Vicodin and 1 in 20 reported abuse of OxyContin. When asked how prescription narcotics were obtained for non-medical use, 70% of 12th graders said they were given to them by a friend or a relative.
Alert! Alert! Alert!
Among U.S. adolescents, misuse of prescription painkillers peaks at age 16, earlier than thought, a new large survey analysis reveals.
"What our findings suggest is that if we wait until the last year of high school or college to take some kind of action that could prevent the misuse of opioid painkillers, it'll be a case of too little, too late," cautioned study co-author James Anthony, a professor epidemiology and biostatistics in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Some kids had already misused these drugs by age 13 or 14, or eighth grade, the researchers found.
The authors warned that their findings highlight a weakness in public health strategies that take sole aim at college-age drug abusers, given that the roots of the problem seem firmly planted among younger students.
Dr. Marc Galanter, Director of the Division of Alcholism and Substance Abuse within the Psychiatry Department at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, agreed that the current analysis "correctly points to the need for prevention and early intervention."
Prescription pain relievers are becoming our nation's gravest drug-abuse problem," Galanter said. "And a pattern that often emerges is younger adolescents may use these pills intermittently or occasionally, and then later fall into heavier use and addiction. So the earlier this issue can be addressed in that sequence, the greater will be the opportunity for a constructive outcome."
What Can Parents Do?
Summer is approaching and your children will be home more often.
Make sure to clean out any old prescriptions from your medicine cabinet and keep all narcotics locked up.
Keeping the temptation to try drugs out of sight may help keep it out of their minds.
notMYkid also believes in preventative home drug testing.
If you suspect your child is involved in any type of substance abuse, please don't hesitate to state that conversation!
Don't know where to start? Please contact notMykid for support, information and resources.