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Drug czar: We are our kid's drug dealers
Filed under: Teens, Alcohol & Drugs, Day Care & Education
Every parent knows to keep harmful substances locked up and out of baby's reach. It seems our teenagers need the same protection.
According to a new report released by White House drug czar John Walters, the most common illegal drugs teens are using to get high (next to marijuana) are prescription medications. For the first time, there are just as many abusers ages 12 and over of prescription drugs as there are for marijuana. What's more, prescription drugs are the most commonly abused drugs among 12-13 year olds.
Where are they getting these drugs? According to the study, nearly half of teens who use prescription drugs say they get them free from a relative or friend. The majority of these teens agreed that prescription drugs are easier to get than illegal drugs and three in five say they get them from their parents' medicine cabinets.
Analysis of national surveys prepared by Walter's office showed that 1.2 million teenagers abused prescription drugs in 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available. The most commonly abused prescription drugs among teens are pain relievers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin.
"The drug dealer is us," Walters said, adding that adults need to keep track of prescription drugs and dispose of them properly when the drugs expire.
"People just aren't aware that they need to be careful, and so they leave prescriptions in the medicine cabinet and they don't think anything about it," he said.
Lock up your medicine cabinets and talk to your kids!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
2-17-2007 @ 3:26AM
Dave said...So true! I remember reading a while back about "drug parties" where kids (teens) would get together to swap stuff from their medicine cabinets from home. That way they would get to try different stuff out.
Thanks for the post.
Reply
3-27-2007 @ 2:24AM
sam said...yeah its true. im in college now but when i was in highschool i had a friend who would take painkillers from her grandparents, atleast 40 at a time (different kinds of course), and share them with me.
my house was different though. my mom went to rehab when i was at an earlier age for alcohol and pills so we never had anything here. i would try my hardest to find things when i felt the need but only found antidepressants and advil. she was very staright and always set an example of not using anything.
the point im trying to make is the only way to keep these drugs from your kids is not to have them in your house. yes, they may get them from other sources but this article is on being your childs drug dealer. a teenager who wants drugs will find drugs no matter what even if they have to sniff them out. we train ourselves just as a police dog may be trained to sniff pot out of someones bag at the air port.
if you are under the circumstances of a life and death situation where you need these things then i suggest a lockable cabinet or safe. if you do have a lockable cabinet make sure the screws can not be unscrewed with a screw driver, kids are not that stupid.
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