Prescription Drug Abuse Increasing Among Young Adults

HARTFORD — A 16-year-old high school cheerleader dies of a drug overdose. The twins of a 30-year-old addicted mother are placed in foster care because her drug habit prevents her from caring for them. A registered nurse loses his job when caught using and selling drugs. These are stories not of people abusing marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other illegal drugs, but rather, abusing legal prescription drugs.

The addictive nature of prescription painkillers is rarely understood by teenagers or young adults who use them to get high.

“Medicine cabinets are the main source for teens and young adults to obtain prescription medication,” Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr, said this week. “Storing your prescription medicine in a lockable cabinet, drawer, or toolbox, or using a childproof lock-box is the safer, preferred alternative.”

In February, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America released its findings from the 2008 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study. The study revealed that 41 percent of teens mistakenly believe that abusing medicine is less dangerous than abusing illegal street drugs, and 61 percent of teens report that prescription drugs are easier to get than illegal drugs.

“Statistics show that teens and young adults underestimate the dangers of prescription drugs versus illegal street drugs,” Mr Farrell said. “Compounding the problem is their easy access to medicines in the home.”

Prescription drugs are seen by teens and young adults as safe and acceptable because they are doctor-prescribed. But abusing them to get high frequently leads users to try heroin, since it is far less expensive than prescription drugs. The National Drug Intelligence Center’s (NDIC) 2008 National Drug Threat Assessment warned that heroin abuse is increasing among young adults in suburban and rural areas.

“Prescription drug addiction is a personal catastrophe, just like an addiction to illegal drugs,” Mr Farrell said. “The Department of Consumer Protection is working with local, state, and federal agencies and organizations to correct the notion that prescription drugs are less dangerous than illegal street drugs.”

Did You Know?

*4.5 million American kids have reported that they have abused prescription drugs.

*2.1 million American kids have intentionally abused cough syrup. Every day 2,700 teens try a prescription medicine to get high for the first time.

*Half of teens do not see a great risk in abusing prescription (Rx) or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Teens believe that abuse of Rx and OTC medicines is safer than street drugs. Such drugs are easily accessible via medicine cabinets and the Internet.

*Over half of teens agree prescription drugs are easier to get than illegal drugs.

*One in three teens report having a close friend who abuses Rx pain relievers to get high.

*One in four teens report having a close friend who abuses cough medicines to get high.

*Only 31 percent of teens learn a lot about the risk of drugs from their parents.

*Emergency room visits due to abuse of prescription drugs are more than the number of visits due to marijuana and heroin combined.

For more information on storing prescription medications, e visit the department’s website at www.ct.gov/dcp or call the agency’s Prescription Monitoring Program at 860-713-6073.