According to CBS News, drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, with 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Nearly 60% of those deaths involved prescription drugs (3). The growth of prescription drug abuse in teens is aided by the ease by which one can access drugs. Experts say illegal prescription drugs are being bought, sold and traded in every school?public or private?and in every neighborhood.
Novus suggests that parents examine the factors that lead to prescription drug abuse in order to prevent this dangerous behavior. There are multiple aspects that influence teens into abusing prescription drugs, such as:
? Misperceptions about their safety. Teens often have a sense of immortality and doubt that drugs will harm them. Because these medications are prescribed by doctors, many incorrectly assume that they are safe to take under any circumstances. Prescription drugs act directly or indirectly on the same brain systems affected by illicit drugs. Using a medication other than as prescribed can potentially lead to a variety of adverse health effects, including overdose and addiction.
? Increasing availability. Prescription drugs are readily available in every school, public or private. Some teenagers host ?pharm parties,? where everyone brings drugs and they all trade, sometimes mixing the substances with alcohol.
? Peer pressure. Being a teenager can be a confusing time for many, and some teens suffer from low self-esteem. This can cause teens to participate in drug use, just to feel accepted.
For Ally, a 20-year-old recovering drug addict, prescription drugs were everything. Ally became an addict at just 16 years of age, taking Roxicodone (Roxies), Benzodiazepine (Benzos), Xanax (Xanies), Vicodin, Methadone and Opana. Ally got her first high after stealing pills from her grandmother. Four years after taking her first pill, she has just completed her third stint in drug rehab. With four months of sobriety under her belt, Ally is working to get back the life that prescription drugs nearly took away (4). The growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse has changed the demographic of ?addicts? that Novus treats. Novus has seen a shift over the past several years from people addicted to street drugs to professionals prescribed pain killers by their medical doctors who then became addicted.
?Now we?re seeing teen and young adult prescription drug abuse,? said Novus Executive Director, Kent Runyon.
Withdrawal is an important step in recovering from addiction, and Runyon claims that prescription drugs are very painful to withdraw from. Novus pays particular attention to strengthening its patients? bodies, through proprietary medical protocols such as the vitamin IV, in order to make the withdrawal process as painless as possible.
Novus?s medical process has allowed them to accept high-dose prescription drug abuse cases, where other facilities turn the same cases down as being too risky. And while ?getting clean? is the primary goal, Runyon says their teen patients experience a brand new respect for their total health after going through their detox program.
?We want to send these young adults back home in a condition of being able to focus on getting back to normal lives,? Runyon adds. ?Being addicted to dangerous prescription medications creates a damaging lifestyle, including dangers to their immediate and long-term health as well as turmoil it puts their family through.?
- Courtesy of PRWeb
Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/alarming-number-of-teens-abusing-prescription-drugs/
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