Accessibility of Prescription Drugs

Accessibility of Prescription Drugs
By CWK Network Producer

“There is a tremendous amount of medicines out there that are readily available in the bathrooms, in the cabinets at home as well as on the black market.”
— Steven Jaffe, M.D., adolescent psychiatrist

According to a recent report from the CDC, for the first time the abuse of painkillers and other medication is sending as many people to the emergency room as the use of illegal drugs. The abuse of prescription drugs is being called our nation’s fastest-growing drug problem.

In fact, many kids say they can get any prescription drug they might want.

Joseph, age 17, says he could get “vicodin, morphine, anything like that.”

Patti, age 17, says she could even get methadone.

According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 61 percent of teens say prescription drugs are easier to get than any other drug.

One reason … easy accessibility.

“This is the age of medication,” explains Dr. Steven Jaffe, adolescent psychiatrist. “I think there is a tremendous amount of all sorts of medicines out there that are readily available in the bathrooms, in the cabinets at home as well as on the black market.”

In fact, kids say the medicine cabinet is the first place they look. “That’s mostly how it starts,” says 16-year-old T.J.

That’s why, experts say, prescription medicine needs to be locked up.

“We have gun cabinets that are locked up to keep guns away from our teenagers,” says Dr. Herb Kleber, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University. “We should also develop locked medicine cabinets in order to help secure these agents so that it isn’t easy for teenagers to get to them.”

Carol Thomas lost her son, Ross, when he overdosed on prescription drugs. Ross was 16-years-old.

“Ross didn’t get anything from [our] medicine cabinet, but I know parents have it and there’s nothing wrong with that,” says Thomas. “If you need medication, you need medication. But I think that we’re silly to walk around and dangle a carrot in front of a kid’s face.”

What Parents Need to Know

Because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration puts its seal of approval on prescription drugs, many teens mistakenly believe that using these drugs – even if they are not prescribed to them – is safe. However, this practice can, in fact, lead to addiction and severe side effects. How can you determine if your teen is abusing drugs? The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry suggests looking for the following warning signs and symptoms in your teen:

• Physical: Fatigue, repeated health complaints, red and glazed eyes and a lasting cough
• Emotional: Personality change, sudden mood changes, irritability, irresponsible behavior, low self-esteem, poor judgment, depression and a general lack of interest
• Familial: Starting arguments, breaking rules or withdrawing from the family
• School-related: Decreased interest, negative attitude, drop in grades, many absences, truancy and discipline problems
• Social: having new friends who are less interested in standard home and school activities, problems with the law, and changes to less conventional styles in dress and music

If you believe your teen has a problem with drug abuse, you can take several steps to get the help he or she needs. The American Academy of Family Physicians suggests contacting your health-care provider so that he or she can perform an adequate medical evaluation in order to match the right treatment or intervention program with your teen. You can also contact a support group in your community dedicated to helping families coping with addiction.

Substance abuse can be an overwhelming issue with which to deal, but it doesn’t have to be. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America offers the following strategies to put into practice so that your teen can reap the rewards of a healthy, drug-free life:

• Be your teen’s greatest fan. Compliment him or her on all of his or her efforts, strength of character and individuality.
• Encourage your teen to get involved in adult-supervised after-school activities. Ask him or her what types of activities he or she is interested in and contact the school principal or guidance counselor to find out what activities are available. Sometimes it takes a bit of experimenting to find out which activities your teen is best suited for, but it’s worth the effort – feeling competent makes children much less likely to use drugs.
• Help your teen develop tools he can use to get out of drug-related situations. Let him or her know he or she can use you as an excuse: “My mom would kill me if I smoked marijuana!”
• Get to know your teen’s friends and their parents. Set appointments for yourself to call them and check-in to make sure they share your views on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Steer your teen away from any friends who use drugs.

• Call teens’ parents if their home is to be used for a party. Make sure that the party will be drug-free and supervised by adults.
• Set curfews and enforce them. Let your teen know the consequences of breaking curfew.
• Set a no-use rule for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
• Sit down for dinner with your teen at least once a week. Use the time to talk – don’t eat in front of the television.
• Get – and stay – involved in your teen’s life.