Drug Abuse

When it comes to teenage prescription drug abuse I think we need to be careful not to make the mistake and point the finger at the doctors, as many of these drugs they prescribe are medical miracles and truly do help people cope with chronic pain and other ailments. What we run into is that these drugs people use for pain and other ailments are very addictive.

That is why doctors try to take so many precautions on issuing these drugs and how they are ministered to those who need them. But what we see is that someone can move from being completely dependent upon them to being addicted to them.

And when our teenagers get a hold of these drugs we see them become addicted very quickly. This is not a regional problem but a national one. It is growing out of hand in most states!

“I believe it’s become a major threat,” said Lt. Gary Seefeldt of the Lower Paxton Police Department. “I know people personally whose kids are hooked on it. When I can say that, that’s a problem.”

Just as any addict the larger the dosage you take to keep the high going the greater the withdrawal you will be feeling. The end result is a need to be on these pills all the time. Since your teen is not being prescribed these drugs it results in them taking drastic measures to obtain new pills and feed their own addiction.

I actually ran into a teacher who was addicted to these prescription drugs. This person would do anything including scoping out people who had injured themselves so that they could go and ask for pills. Usually stating that they had a headache of some sort. I use to wonder if they had actually approached a teenager to obtain these drugs. I would never put it past an addict.

One of the first things you need to do if your teenager is addicted to prescription drugs is think of all the places where they are getting these drugs. Outside of them buying it from friends at school you need to think through all the places within your own family where your teen can acquire these drugs. Your own home, grandparents, friends, and neighbors houses. Believe me there are ample opportunities for your teenager to locate and find prescription drugs.

Listen to what Dennis McMaster said in an interview last January; “We’re seeing more and more prescribed drug abuse among young people, and part of it is the accessibility,” said Dennis McMaster, police chief at the East Pennsboro Police Department. “They’re stealing it from mom and dad, grandma and grandpa.”

One of the problems I see with teens getting addicted to prescription drugs is that they are not viewed like other drugs. Since they are legal and can be acquired by a doctor it seems like it is less of a crime to take and sell these drugs. But don’t mistake the law either, because if your teen is caught with drugs that are not prescribed to them they will be arrested and charged. Especially if caught on school grounds.

But this is a problem that is growing and will not go away. Staten Island reported;

“It’s widespread. It’s a growing trend of recreational use mixed with drinking alcohol. It’s highly addictive,” says Luke Nasta, the executive director of Camelot Counseling Centers, who has seen a “gradual, steady increase” of teens coming in for prescription drug addiction over the past five years.

Prescription Drug Abuse: Lifeways Coalition Forum: Alarming Trends in Synthetic and Prescription Drug Abuse Part 1

Lifeways Coalition Meeting on Synthetic Drug and Precription Drug Abuse. Featuring, Paula Wilkinson Smith, Lifeways Executive Director; Nikkole Abbas, Lifeways Community Outreach Coordinator; Senior Officer Paul Wathen, Rapid City Police Department; John Wenande, SD Division of Criminal Investigations. A big Thank You goes out to Western Prevention Resource Center for their technical assistance as well as letting Lifeways utilize their equipment in order to create this video!

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