If your child has been diagnosed with a medical condition that requires medication, they can carry around their prescriptions. But it's a different situation altogether when a teenager is found in possession of medications not belonging to her, as several Boulder, Colorado students found out last week.

"Three female Nevin Platt Middle School students were arrested on felony charges this week after an investigation into prescription-drug trading that sent a fourth girl home sick... one of the girls brought two types of prescription drugs - Strattera and Concerta, both used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - to the school..."

Prescription drug abuse is becoming increasingly common among teenagers, but few realize the dire consequences associated with using and distributing the drugs. Source: Boulder Daily Camera

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Labels: arrested, consequences, prescription_drugs

A few years ago, a group of new drugs looked like they held promise for use in the treatment of alcoholism, substance abuse, smoking cessation, and even obesity. Now, doctors are finding that these drugs have serious side effects for some patients.

Drugs like Chantix, Rimonabant, and Taranabant work by blocking the pleasure centers in the brain. However, they also put some patients at risk for depression and suicide. Certain drug makers are now advising doctors not to prescribe them to anyone with a history of depression.

Prescription drugs alone will never be able to treat addiction; behavior modification and therapy must be part of the treatment for long term recovery. Learn more about the fully integrated adolescent drug treatment program at North Star Center.

Labels: brain_chemistry, prescription_drugs, treatment

Parents in Chattanooga, Tenn., gathered together on Tuesday night to discuss the issue of teen drug abuse. The forum was called in response to the March 1st death of a 15-year-old who overdosed on prescription medication.

"A group of students volunteered to start a peer council and share the experience of teen angst with their classmates... Parent Alan Broom said the peer council was the most well-received idea at Tuesday's forum, which was attended by dozens of parents but closed to the media."

Parents also discussed the importance of meeting their kids' friends and their friends' families. Read more at TimesFreePress.com.

Pharm parties are ways for teens to experiment with prescription drugs. Learn more about pharm parties and prescription drug abuse at ByParents-forParents.com.

Labels: parental_involvement, prescription_drugs

The latest Monitoring the Future survey has found that prescription drug use among teenagers is still on the rise. Painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin were among the most popular.

"'For teenagers nowadays, prescription drugs are becoming more of a problem than illicit street drugs', said Russell Bush, Medical Director for the Lapeer County Health Department. 'We periodically have overdose and deaths in this country from prescription medication, or mixing of prescription medication with illicit drugs, and/or alcohol.'"

The mixing of prescription and illicit drugs often amplifies the effects of the prescription drug and can cause near-euphoric feelings.

NorthStar Center offers addiction recovery programs to older teens and young adults. Their substance abuse treatment center helps adolescents get on the road to health and success.

Labels: prescription_drugs, teenagers

Students who abuse prescription medication often "fly under the radar" according to school officials in Muskegon County, Michigan. Still, most schools have programs ready to help those students for whom drug use of any kind is a known problem.

"Muskegon High School has a network of teachers, student specialists, administrators and guidance counselors who are alert for signs that students may be using drugs...If such changes are noted, school officials will talk to the student, at the same time including parents and guardians. Counseling, tutoring or even outside resources may be offered."

The county is finding that an increasing number of students bring prescription medications to schools (particularly Ritalin and Adderall) with the intent of selling it to fellow students.

Labels: awareness, high school, prescription_drugs

The state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) of New York has created tool it hopes will help parents spot drug abuse problems in the home.

"The state Office... created the tool to help New Yorkers track prescription and over-the-counter medicines in their home. It's intended to be filled out weekly."

The PDF tool is downloadable off the OASAS website and is a grid-like worksheet that can be used to track: a medication's dose amount, when the prescription was filled, and how much of the medication is left each day.

Visit our page on identifying the General Signs of Teen Alcohol or Drug Use and learn about what you can do to help.

Labels: awareness, prescription_drugs, prevention

The Calhoun County Medicine Abuse Prevention Task Force was formed in 2005, as the county became aware of the increasing abuse of prescription medication. Now, the task force is urging parents, teachers and community leaders to educate themselves on the dangers of prescription drug use and the warning signs.

"Signs of a medicine abuse problem may include: hiding pills, obsessively counting them, doctor shopping, or frequent visits to emergency rooms, having meds filled at more than one pharmacy, taking a greater amount of drug or taking it more frequently than prescribed."

The greatest danger in prescription drug use is that many people, especially teenagers, think that prescribed medicine is safer than illegal drugs. Pain killers are currently the most common among misused prescription drugs.

Labels: abuse, medications, prescription_drugs

Recent studies have indicated that one in five teenagers has abused prescription medication that they get from a parent or grandparent's medicine cabinet. To try and curb this trend in South Florida, the Drug Free Collier is holding "Operation Medicine Cabinet" on Saturday, November 17th.

"Everyone is invited to bring unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications to several locations for proper disposal during Operation Medicine Cabinet, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17th."

There will be several locations at which people can drop off medication.

Prescription drug abuse is a dangerous and serious matter. Visit DrugRehabTreatment for important information.

Labels: community_programs, prescription_drugs

Repeated efforts by various organizations and government agencies have outlined the many dangers of prescription drug abuse. Still, teens continue to ignore the warnings.

"Dr. Alan Barton, a Fort Mojave pediatrician, said in the past year he has seen an increase of young people abusing prescribed drugs such as OxyContin, which he said physicians falsely tout as less addictive. Barton said he has four female patients addicted to Soma, a pain reliever. His youngest patient is a 13-year-old who uses cough medicine and marijuana."

Parents, school administrators, doctors and nurses need to continue issuing warnings about prescription drug use. Parents should make sure their own medications are stored in a place that is inaccessible to their kids or their kids' friends.

Labels: awareness, parents, prescription_drugs

Researchers at the Ohio State University looked into 18.6 million visits to doctors by children ages 6 to 12 years who had problems falling asleep. Three-quarters of them received prescription sleep aids that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use by children.

"The concern with sleep medications is that we do not know how much to use and how long to use these drugs for children," said Professor Milap Nahata of the College of Pharmacy in Columbus. He and his colleagues collected data recorded between 1993 and 2004 by the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

A 2004 study from the National Sleep Foundation found that about 60% of children under age 11 have trouble sleeping. Dr. Nahata's study appears in the August 1 issue of Sleep.

Learn more about teenage drug abuse and other issues facing today's teens at Teen-Help-Directory.com.

Labels: children, prescription_drugs, sleep

A recent survey conducted by national polling firm RT Strategies found that just 6% of parents are concerned about their kids abusing prescription medication. The finding was alarming, in light of other studies that have shown a dramatic increase in abuse of prescription drugs among teenagers.

"'We must raise awareness of these drug trends so parents realize that talking to their kids about drug abuse and prevention before heading back to school is on par with buying school supplies - both are necessary and will lay the foundation for a successful and healthy school year,' continued [Debbie] Moak."

The study also found that, though 80% of parents deny that prescription drugs are easily accessible in their home, over 10% of kids aged 12 to 17 have taken prescription drugs from a family member or friends' home. Read more at EMaxHealth.com.

Excel Academy offers programs for troubled teens that combine therapy and academics to help teenagers turn their lives around.

Labels: communication, parents, prescription_drugs

On August 15th, parents, teens, health care professionals, and city officials will come together in East Brunswick, New Jersey to discuss the dangerous trend of prescription medication abuse among teens. The purpose is to educate and raise awareness of the problem.

"More importantly, we aim to identify solutions and strategies to address this issue. Audience members will be encouraged to join in the dialogue with questions and ideas."

State Senator Barbara Buono will serve as moderator. Read more at THNT.com.

Dealing with teen drug abuse? You don't have to go through it alone. Learn how to get help at DrugRehabTreament.com.

Labels: abuse, awareness, prescription_drugs

Prescription drug abuse has become more common than the uses of heroin and crack/cocaine combined. Most parents take proactive steps to keep their prescription medications where they can't be found or stolen, but teens can also buy them online - often without a prescription.

"According to CASA [The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse], there are 581 websites that advertise or sell controlled prescription drugs... One of the most disturbing things about this study is that 84 percent of these websites don't require a prescription to buy these drugs."

It's becoming increasingly important for parents to monitor what their kids are doing online. Prescription drugs can only be bought online using a credit card, so careful scrutiny of credit card statements is important as well. Read more at Fox16.com.

Concerned about adolescent substance abuse? DrugRehabTreatment.com has the answers you're looking for about prescription drug abuse and other more about drugs and teens. Visit DrugRehabTreatment.com for help on teen drug addiction.

Labels: internet, over-the-counter-drugs, prescription_drugs

According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center, 10 percent of college use stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall illegally at some point. Typically used to treat ADHD, illegal use of these drugs jumped 20 percent between 2004 and 2005.

"'Most students who use their friend’s stimulants do it to improve performance,' said Scott Teitelbaum, M.D., medical director of the Florida Recovery Center at UF. 'It's like athletes taking steroids - the idea that you can study better, harder, longer, as if you were hitting a ball farther.'"

Students who abuse prescription drugs are often already behind in school, which is why they need to cram. Overall, their academic performance is worse than that of other students. Abuse of prescription drugs has increased sharply in the past several years, and is now more common that the uses of crack/cocaine, Ecstasy, heroin and methamphetamine combined.

Read more at News-Medical.net.

Labels: college_students, prescription_drugs, stimulants

A grassroots campaign called Five Moms launched today, in an effort to educate parents about the very real dangers of cough-medicine abuse among teenagers. The campaign was developed by the nation's cough-medicine makers, who conducted a nationwide search to find the Five Moms.

"The Five Moms Campaign will use the very same tactics medicine abusers are using: spreading and promoting information on the Internet. The Five Moms' goal is to get the word out to as many parents as possible that cough medicine abuse is happening in their homes, and that the Internet is a driving force."

Recent studies have shown that as many as one in 10, or 2.4 million young people, report having used cough-medicine to get high. Read more online.

Over the counter drugs and teens don't mix. Today's teenagers are using and abusing prescription medicines as never before. Get more help for parents of troubled teens at ByParents-forParents.com.

Labels: medications, over-the-counter-drugs, prescription_drugs