Pubdate: Tue, 31 May 2005
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Henry Barmeier
Note: Henry Barmeier is a junior at Saratoga High School.

IN SEARCH OF A HIGH, MANY TEENS TURN TO READILY AVAILABLE MEDICATIONS 
RATHER THAN STREET DRUGS

Prescription and over-the-counter medications are becoming the drugs
of choice for many teens. Steve Bennett, the school resource officer
for the Brisbane Police Department, has seen it firsthand.

There was the 19-year-old who spent nights dumpster-diving behind
senior care facilities and health care centers for prescription drugs.

And the 17-year-old who stole and used his mother's antidepressants
and his brother's medication for attention-deficient disorder; the boy
was later sent to a live-in drug rehabilitation program.

"This stuff is everywhere," Bennett said in reference to drugs such
as Ritalin, which many teens use to get high.

According to an annual survey released last month by the Partnership
for a Drug-Free America, abuse of prescription and over-the-counter
(OTC) medicine is "higher than or on par with teen abuse of a variety
of illicit drugs."

Among the survey's findings were that 28 percent of teens had abused a
prescription painkiller, 10 percent had tried either Ritalin or
Adderall without a doctor's order, and 9 percent had abused OTC cough
syrup.

Although this was only the second year the survey explicitly studied
abuse of legal drugs, it was the first time that the data showed teens
were more likely to have gotten high off a prescription painkiller
than to have experimented with illegal drugs.

Meghan Gutierrez, a spokeswoman for the Partnership for a Drug-Free
America, cited several reasons for the abuse of prescription drugs.
First, most teens view prescription and OTC medicine as safer than
"street drugs." Also, doctors are prescribing more of these
medications to begin with.

However, availability is the biggest reason teens are increasingly
abusing prescription medication. According to Gutierrez, most teens
who are abusing these drugs are finding the medications at home or at
the homes of friends.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents
manufacturers and distributors of non-prescription drugs, has already
released a brochure dealing with the abuse of OTC cough remedies.
These medications contain the cough suppressant dextromethorphan,
which is effective and safe in the recommended amounts, but is
commonly abused by teens looking for a high.

"This industry takes very seriously the intentional abuse of any of
its products," said CHPA spokeswoman Elizabeth Assey. "Parents need
to be aware of the potential for abuse and monitor their teens for
signs of any sort of abuse problems."

Additionally, CHPA is teaming up with the partnership to develop an
educational campaign for teens and their parents designed to curb
prescription and OTC drug abuse.

"To be honest, it's one of the most challenging assignments I think
we've faced in several years," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said the campaign would not aim to do away with these drugs,
but rather to promote their proper use according to the directions or
advice of a physician. In the meantime, she recommended that teens and
parents visit the partnership's Web site, www.drugfree.org, to find
resources for detecting and dealing with substance abuse.

And, if teens believe a friend or a loved one has a problem with drug
abuse, she said, they definitely should contact a physician to get
that person help.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake