Teens and Prescription Drug Abuse

I've decided that for today's post I'm going to try to talk about one class of drugs that affects teens and is abused by teens. So for today's post, I will be talking about (drum roll please)...prescription drug abuse.

I think there are some misconceptions about prescription drug use that make teens feel less guilty about abusing them. The major misconception seems to be that prescription drugs are safer because they were prescribed by a doctor. I guess it's a semi-logical conclusion to come to. However, that conclusion is totally wrong. Prescription drug use is still drug abuse, and is just as dangerous and addicting as abusing any other drug. Some of the risks of abusing prescription drugs include:

• vomiting and nausea
• drowsiness, dizziness, shaking
• hospitalization, death
• engaging in risky behaviors (driving under the influence, stealing, etc.)
• lost interest in normal activities
• loss of interest in class work and a drop in academic performance

You might not care if you lose interest in your class work (maybe you already have), but you should definitely care about your health. Prescription drug abuse is not trivial, and has consequences that can negatively (and sometimes permanently) change your life.

I stumbled upon an article from USA Today that talks about the increasing use of prescription drugs in teen culture, and the dangers of the use of prescription drugs (I'm warning you in advance that this article is long, but it's really worth reading, I promise). While it might seem like using prescription drugs must be safe because they're prescribed by a doctor, they are only safe when used as prescribed and used by the person they are prescribed to. When abused, prescription drugs can be deadly.

Another good source of info about prescription drug use can be found at www.painfullyobvious.com. This site lets you pick your site guide, and it's kind of lame, but if you can get past their obvious attempts to try and be cool and reate to you, there is some really good information about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. This site lets you explore all of the ways that prescription drug abuse can affect your life, including at home, at school, with your friends, etc.

The bottom line is that prescription drug abuse is not safe. Just because they're in your medicine cabinet doesn't mean that they can't cause damage, and if you abuse them, they will cause damage. If you think you or a friend might have a problem with prescription drug abuse, this website has a number that you can call for help and also has a list of treatment centers for teen with substance abuse problems.

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse, teen-addiction, teen-drug-abuse, teen-drug-help, teen-rehab, teen-substance-abuse

posted by beth @ 12:07 PM