Prescription Drug Dealers Arrested in Staten Island

Twenty-three young people were arrested for forging prescriptions for painkillers in Staten Island, New York recently. The drug ring was responsible for putting 21,000 painkillers, most commonly Vicodin, OxyContin, and Xanax, in the hands of teenagers and young adults. Those arrested were in their early 20s.

Prescription drug abuse increased by 542% among teens ages 12 to 17 between 1992 and 2002. The majority get their drugs from family medicine cabinets.

Police in Staten Island said teens believe that prescription painkillers are not as dangerous as street drugs such as heroin. However, teens do not understand that they are just as addictive and that it is easy to overdose on them, especially when you combine them with alcohol, barbiturates, or benzodiazepines.

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse

posted by Aspen Education Group @ 9:26 PM