Marijuana No Longer Much of a Problem - Your Kids Are Now Abusing Prescription Drugs

                                                                                         

According to government statistics, marijuana is becoming less of a problem. Since marijuana is known as the gateway drug – the drug that will open the door to taking other drugs – these statistics may lull parents into a false sense of security. But the gateway role has been passed on. The new gateway drugs come out of your medicine cabinet, and they’re far more dangerous than marijuana ever was.

The statistics on prescription drug addiction and abuse are nothing short of alarming. With the exception of marijuana, which is still widely used even if the numbers have decreased, more teens abuse prescription drugs than all illegal drugs combined. That includes methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and so on.

One in five teens has already used prescription painkillers, stimulants or tranquilizers and every day 2,500 more kids try prescription drugs for the first time.

Which drugs are the kids taking? The most common are painkillers like OxyContin, oxycodone, Lortab, Vicodin, Percacet, Percodan and the Fentanyl patch. These drugs are opioids – basically the same as heroin.

Ritalin and Adderall are also widely used, especially among college students and college-aged young adults, as are Xanax, Valium and Klonopin.

Do these drugs sound familiar? They should – they’re in your very own medicine cabinet. And that could be where your kids first got them.

What could possibly have made your kids think it was okay to take your drugs?

First of all, they came from a doctor. That means they’re safe. Or, at least, that’s what kids think. But these drugs are anything but safe. Check the news or do a Google search for prescription drug overdoses and you’ll find out for yourself.

When kids start taking drugs, it often takes about six months before parents find out about it. Six months of smoking marijuana probably isn’t going to kill anyone. But six months on a prescription drug will certainly result in addiction.

And, unfortunately, it can take a lot less than six months for some of these drugs to kill you. Many kids who overdose on prescription drugs do so the first time they take them. They were just experimenting. Their parents had no idea the kids were in trouble – and neither did the kids.

What can you do about it? Two things are most important. Educate yourself on this subject, and then do the same with your kids and the parents of their friends. Make sure other parents also educate their own kids so those kids don’t influence yours.

Your kids have to realize that the fact that only doctors can prescribe these pills isn’t an indication of how safe they are, it’s an indication of how dangerous they are.

The second thing? Lock up your drugs. Kids are influenced by their peers, and they’re curious, and they have their own problems they might think those drugs will help them escape from for a few hours.

Don’t underestimate this problem. And don’t think it can’t happen to your kids - most parents who are now grieving the loss of their son or daughter thought the same thing.

And if there is even the hint of a problem, get them into an addiction treatment center fast. Letting anything delay treatment could have results you will always regret.

About the author:
Gloria MacTaggart is a freelance writer that contributes articles on health.

info@drugrehabreferral.com

http://www.drugrehabreferral.com


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