Prescription Drug Abuse Treatment

Many surveys have been done around the subject of teen prescription drug use.  Disturbingly most teens are around 14 years of age when they first start to experiment with these drugs, often as a result of peer pressure.  The numbers are disturbing:  around 6.7million teens responded that they had abused a prescription drug, either a painkiller or stimulant, and 2.2million had purchased over-the-counter drugs for recreational use.  Stimulants were often used to increase academic performance, improve concentration and provide energy.

Whatever the reason for using the drugs there is a lot of misinformation about the safety of doing so.  Most teens believe them to be safer than illegal drugs and around 70% of them take them from sources within their own home.

Taking a prescription drug for any reason other than stated is drug abuse, as is taking prescription drugs belonging to someone else.  It has been shown that the inappropriate use of prescription drugs makes a teen more likely to turn to alcohol, marijuana and other street drugs, compared to teens who do not.  Opioid painkillers are particularly risky since they act in the same way to street drugs like heroin.  Once a person becomes addicted to a prescribed opioid they can often turn to heroin because it is cheaper and easier to obtain.