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Prescription medication abuse amongst adolescents is on the rise. 20 percent of 12- to 17-year-old teenagers in the U.S. have reported giving their prescription drugs like Oxycontin and Adderall to friends or obtained drugs the same way, Reuters reported Aug. 18.
Allergy drugs, narcotic pain relievers, antibiotics, acne medications, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications were the most commonly shared. Three-quarters of those who borrowed drugs from friends said they did so instead of visiting a doctor.
About one-third of those who borrowed medications said they had experienced an adverse reaction as a result.
Past research has shown that 40 percent of adults also share their medications. "However, prior to our study, no one had asked adolescents how often they shared prescription medications, which meds they shared and what some of the outcomes were," said lead researcher Richard Goldsworthy of Academic Edge, Inc.
In a recent survey, forty percent of teens report that they can find marijuana within a day, and over two-thirds of those adolescents surveyed said that drugs are sold, kept, and used at their school. One in five teens say that they can get prescription drugs within an hour and that their own homes and friends are how they get them.
When I was abusing prescription drugs, I regularly went into my friend’s parents bathrooms and went through their medicine cabinets in Corpus Christi. I usually found something I wanted to abuse, like sedatives or painkillers. Medicine cabinets in the suburbs were like candy stores to me. No one seemed to suspect what my friends and I were up to until it was too late.
Prescription drug abuse is rapidly becoming the number one drug of choice for teens because of their widespread availability, lack of social stigma, and the misperception that pill forms of drugs aren’t as dangerous or addictive. One expert recommends having your child’s physician do a drug test at their yearly physical in order to determine drug abuse that may be going undetected. If you find that your teen is indeed abusing prescription drugs, teen drug rehab is an effective way of helping teens find ways to live clean and sober.
Because teens adapt so easily and become addicted so quickly, it is important to address the issue in a big way. I had to be removed from my old life in order to see just how bad it had actually become. Teen drug rehab gave me the space, time, and safety to deal with the issues that led me to use, and to find new ways to live free of drug use. It was hard admitting I was a drug addict at 16, but doing so has given me a whole life to be free, and I can be anything I want. I certainly didn’t have a future when I was using. Get a future contact teen drug and alcohol rehab.
Reports of Michael Jackson’s prescription drug abuse have been flooding the media. Recent articles depict a heavy addiction to painkillers and the anti-anxiety drug, Xanax. People surrounding Jackson have reported that he visited doctors in different states and had staff members fill prescriptions in their names in order to maintain his intense habit. It is a tragedy when anyone succumbs to the wrath of addiction, and the only positive thing that may come of Jackson’s death is that it has highlighted the dangers and seriousness of prescription drug abuse. What I would hope to see from the media is a more intense scrutiny of our prescription drug problem in the United States. Rather than focus on Jackson, we should focus on the problem of prescription drug abuse.
Prescription drug abuse has steadily been on the rise in the US, and it is rapidly becoming one of the most popular forms of drug abuse for teenagers as it has nearly eclipsed marijuana abuse in teens. Many studies indicate that parents are less likely to suspect that their teen is abusing pills, but more and more teens indicate that they are. Xanny-bars, bars, z bars, and white ladders are terms Visions Adolescent Drug Treatment Center commonly hears residents using to describe Xanax. Xanax is in the group of drugs called Benzodiazepines, or benzos, which are commonly prescribed to treat anxiety disorders. The scored tablets (bars) are white and the other tablets are yellow or blue. Xanax is habit forming and does cause withdrawal symptoms. Prescription drug abuse amongst teens is a very real problem. Teens often combine Xanax with other drugs to create dangerous cocktails. Teens rarely think of Xanax as a serious drug and often believe its abuse has no risks. Many people may overlook Xanax abuse but drug dependence is dangerous and harmful no matter what the substance. If you believe that your teen has a problem with Xanax or other drugs, don’t hesitate to seek help today.
Officials investigating the death of Michael Jackson will be looking into his prescription drug abuse as a possible cause of death as an accidental drug overdose . The pop icon admitted to prescription drug addiction in the 90’s and it is likely that his battles continued. Some rumors speculate that Jackson was injected with the heavy narcotic Demerol prior to suffering from cardiac arrest. Autopsy findings will be released in the near future.
Prescription drug abuse is growing rapidly in this country, with prescription drug use eclipsing marijuana use among teens. Teens are increasingly abusing stimulants like Adderall, sedatives like Xanax and Valium, and opiates like Oxycontin, that they acquire from parents’ drug cabinets, friends, and online purchasing. Most parents do not suspect that their teen is abusing prescription medication, however, over the past decade-and-a-half, teen prescription drug abuse has increased five-fold.
It makes sense. When I was using, pills seemed like a harmless thing. I ate Xanax (we called them “zanies”) and Oxycontin (“oxy”) like candy. Pills have less of a stigma attached. While my friends and I would have considered heroin or cocaine a horrible and dangerous drug to try, pills seemed easy and normal- something the girls from Sex and the City might to do relax. I had no idea I was gambling with my life the same way a junkie on the streets gambles with theirs.
Adolescent Drug Treatment helped me see teen addiction as the problem- not the particular substance I abused. I know that the prevailing attitude among teens is that pills are harmless and not nearly as dangerous as street drugs. I hope that with the insane amount of press coverage surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, more attention will be given to the seriousness of prescription drug abuse in our country. I’d rather have a better name for my generation than “Generation Rx”. We can be more than pill-popping zombies I hope. I know I can. If your teen is struggling with prescription drug abuse, help is right here.
If your teen is struggling with teen prescription drug abuse, help is right here.
The Partnership for a Drug Free America has found that parents are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of prescription drug abuse in their children. Lack of concern about prescription drug abuse among youth has dropped significantly over the last several years as parents become more and more aware of the increasing number of adolescents abusing prescription medications. One in five adolescents reports misusing prescription medications, and the study reports that parents are more likely to talk to their children about the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, and street drugs rather than prescriptions.
A recent national telephone survey indicates that parents also underestimate how easy it is for teenagers to acquire prescription medications. 19% percent of teenagers report that prescriptions are the easiest drugs to buy, with alcohol being easiest to buy for 15% of teenagers. The study also found a strong correlation between adolescent prescription drug abuse and the degree of parental awareness in their child’s nightly activities. Of the teen’s out past 10pm, half of them claimed to be with people who were using drugs and smoking. While half of the teenagers surveyed reported being out on a school night, only 14% of parents reported being aware that their teenager was out. If you are concerned that your teenager is abusing prescription medications or other substances, don’t hesitate. Contact us today.
Us Magazine attributed Lindsay Lohan’s recent weight loss to her abuse of the prescription drug Adderall, a stimulant usually prescribed to combat ADHD. Abuse of the drug is rampant among youth and college students, who often use the medication to lose weight or to stay up in order to study for exams. Adderall and other stimulants such as Concerta and Ritalin, are chemically very similar to methamphetamine, and when abused, pose similar health risks. Because the drug allows people to focus for longer periods of time, it deceives the user into believing that they will do better in school, but as with most drugs, the cons outweigh any pros. Long term abuse can lower the levels of dopamine in the brain, creating a need for larger amounts of the stimulant in order to achieve a “high.” Withdrawal can cause the user to feel dysphoria and depression. Abuse can lead to hallucinations, psychotic episodes, extreme paranoia, irregular heartbeat and even death. Giving the pills away or buying and selling them without a prescription is a felony. If anyone in the household is prescribed a stimulant, pills should be kept in a secure area and counted regularly.
Adderall abuse in teenagers and college students is common, as most students know someone with a prescription and can easily get the pills.
How to tell if your teen is addicted to or abusing Adderall? If your teen is prescribed Adderall, you should count their pills regularly and dispense the pills yourself. Regular contact with your child’s doctor is important. One of the most noticeable physical signs of stimulant abuse is dilated pupils. Whenever I abused Adderall, my pupils got gigantic. There was no hiding it. Kids on Adderall may be noticeably excited, overly talkative, or irritable. Stimulants often cause the user to feel very thirsty, and create a loss of appetite and eventual weight loss. Users often refer to “tweaking out” on something, which is when the user hyperfocuses on a task, such as obsessive cleaning, drawing, studying, or playing video games. Finally, Adderall and other stimulants cause sleep loss. Abusing stimulants can keep the user awake all night or, on a binge, multiple nights. Users coming down from the drug may “crash,” sleeping heavily all day following the binge. Withdrawal from the drug often makes the user feel extremely irritable, hostile, or depressed. Prescription stimulant addiction is very serious as addicts will often move on to abusing methamphetamine (meth, tweak, speed, or shit are some common street names) because it is a much stronger version of Adderall. Prescription Adderall abuse is taken very seriously and should be addressed by professionals. Adolescent drug treatment is a very helpful option in dealing with teen prescription drug addiction.
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