| 
Today, adolescents are not taking as much cocaine, crack,
LSD, and ecstasy as the teenagers of the 1960’s. They
have discovered other ways and means to get high; painkillers
and other prescription drugs are being abused at record levels.
This up coming generation of adolescents has been named “Generation
Rx.”
Adolescents are frequently getting caught raiding their
parent’s or grandparent’s medicine cabinets in
order to get high. For the first time, national studies demonstrate
that today’s teens are more likely to have abused a
prescription painkiller than any illegal drug.
Adolescents may get involved with prescription drugs in
different ways. The experimental stage can be extremely hazardous,
because kids often don’t see the relation between their
actions today the consequences of their actions tomorrow.
The majority of teens have a tendency to feel indestructible
and immune to the issues that others experience. Certain teens
will experiment and stop, while others may continue to use
occasionally without any important problem. Then there are
those who develop a dependency; these are the ones that need
instantaneous intervention and help learning to make better
choices.
It is impossible to predict which adolescents will experiment
and stop and which ones will develop important problems. Be
aware of what your child is doing and who they are doing it
with. The following are certain warning indicators of teenagers
at risk for developing serious prescription drug dependency:
a family history of substance or alcohol abuse, depression,
low self-esteem, feel like they don’t fit in and are
not popular with the mainstream, often feel sluggish and have
difficulty sleeping and aggressive and rebellious attitude
toward authority figures
Prescription drug abuse is rising; the main reason is that
they are so readily accessible. If your kid has one or more
of the above behaviours, get help from a professional.
Certain information that you can share with your teen about
prescription medications are:
- Pharmaceuticals used without a prescription or a physician’s
supervision can be just as dangerous as taking illicit drugs
or alcohol
- Abusing painkillers is similar to abusing heroin because
their ingredients are alike (both are opiates).
- Prescription medications are strong drugs. Medications
help sick individuals and are administered by a physician.
When prescription medication is not taken for sickness and
not administered by a professional, it becomes a regulated
substance and the impact on the person can be fatal.
- Several pills look the same and adolescents may get them
mixed up. This can cause various reactions in different
individuals due to the body’s chemistry. It is very
hazardous to take pills that are unknown.
- Mixing drugs with other substances is extremely hazardous.
Certain individuals have allergic reactions to different
chemicals when they are mixed together.
What can you do to help prevent adolescents or any other
individual from getting involved with prescription drug abuse?
The best thing to do is keep your prescription substances
in a safe place: don’t put them in the medicine cabinet
in your bathroom because that is the first place adolescent’s
will look. If doable, lock them up in a cabinet or safe box.
Talk to your adolescent and warn them of the hazards of prescription
drug abuse.
Call us now and we will help
you.
1-800-391-4893
Online Consultation
|
