Teen Prescription drug abuse,facts,causes and how parents can prevent it.

Prescription drug abuse.This phenomenon has grown so powerful in recent years.Sadly Prescription drug abuse is not only prevalent among adults.Out teens are now deeply caught up in their own teen Prescription drug abuse. Here we look at the facts,causes and how parents can monitor and educate their teens against

prescription drug abuse.

Prescription drug abuse IS STILL DRUG ABUSE. Get the facts:

• More than 1,600 teens begin abusing prescription drugs each day.
• Many kids mistakenly believe prescription drugs are safer to abuse than illegal street drugs.
• After marijuana and alcohol, the most common drugs teens are misuing or abusing are prescription medications.
• 12-17 year olds abuse prescription drugs more than ecstasy, heroin, crack/cocaine and methamphetamines combined.
• Two-thirds of people 12 and older (68%) who have abused prescription pain relievers within the past year say they got them from a friend or relative.
• The most commonly abused prescription drugs are pain medications, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medications and stimulants (used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders).
• Almost 1 in every 4 teens in America say they have misused or abused a prescription drug.
• One in five teens (20%) who have abused prescription drugs did so before the age of 14.
• 9% of teens in a recent study reported using prescription pain relievers not prescribed for them in the past year, and 5% (1 in 20) reported doing so in the past month.

It is important to know the warning signs and symptoms of prescription drug abuse:

• Loss of interest in appearance, sports or social activities
• Cash, valuables or medication missing from the home
• Sudden mood changes
• Changes in friends
• Deceitful and secretive behavior
• Irregular schedule
• Sleeping excessively or at atypical times
• Noticeable increase in snoring

What can you do as a parent to guard against teen prescription drug abuse?

• Educate yourself – know the Signs & Symptoms of prescription drug abuse
• Be more aware
• Keep medications in safe place
• Monitor your medications - use a Medicine Inventory Sheet
• Dispose of old or unused medications properly
• Spread the word - know what Community Resources you have available
• Spend time with your teen and get to know their friends and their friends’ parents
• Reinforce positive behaviors
• Be aware of Online Activity
• Most importantly – Talk to your Children!

If you know or suspect that your child is abusing drugs, find out what you can do to intervene. Visit Getting Treatment to get started.

Monitoring Online Activity

Whether or not to monitor a child’s online activity is a personal decision for parents.  However, parents need to know that prescription drugs can be bought over the Internet, both from legitimate online pharmacies and from rogue sites that operate outside of the law.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP) reviewed more than 10,000 websites selling prescription medications and found that 88 percent were operating out of compliance with state and federal laws and/or NABP patient safety and pharmacy practice standards¹. These Not Recommended Sites are listed on the AWARxE website.

If you want to buy a medicine online, look to see if the pharmacy is accredited by the NABP VIPPS® (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites^CM) program. These Recommended sites are also listed on the AWARxE website.

Next, learn about methods for Safe Storage & Disposal.

 National Association of Board of Pharmacy, Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program, Progress Report for State and Federal Regulators: January 2015