Teen Drug Use | Newport Academy

Archive for the ‘Teen Drug Use’ Category

Do you know what pills your teen is taking?

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Prescription drug use is on the rise… BIG TIME!

Prescription pills are the number 1 killer of teens!

Prescription drugs are the Number 1 killer of teens… Number 1. This past year, for the first time in history, more teens died from prescription drug overdoses than from automobile fatalities. There is no sign that this trend is going to slow unless something is done.

The most commonly abuse prescription drug that lands teens in treatment, the ER, or the morgue is oxycontin, or oxycodone. Oxycontin is an opiod pain reliever that was originally created to treat cancer patients on hospice so that they could die without pain… Now pain clinics that dole this stuff out like candy are just as common in Florida as the marijuana clinics are in California. If you have cash and a sprained ankle, you can score some pain meds.

One example of the drastic increase in the abuse of pan medication is in Fairfield County, Ohio. In May of this year, opiod addiction accounted for 67 percent of patients in treatment, up from 4 percent in 2000! Hello, that is almost 17 times more patients due to one classification of drug! Red flag? I think so!

Another example is provided to us by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who provide unparalleled data and research. The yearly number of Emergency Room visits linked to the abuse of prescription pain relievers rose from 144,644 in 2004 to 305,885 in 2008. That is a 111 percent increase. Yes, another red flag. Guess which drug was most common? Yep, oxycodone. Oxycodone related visits were up 152 percent over 4 years and accounted for 35 percent of the visits. Red flag. The number two increase was hydrocodone, up 123 percent. According to the CDC, ER visits for prescription drugs are just as common as visits for illicit drugs. Personally, I think they are more common, but then again, there are some very large pharmaceutical companies that are working very hard to not let all these numbers become common knowledge.

I would love for everybody to know how bad these drugs are… that they are the Number 1 killer of our teens! Please help me in spreading the word, talk about it with your peers.

Where do the kids get their drugs? Most teens say their parents medicine cabinets… Do you know what’s in your medicine cabinet? Go check right now and properly dispose of ANY medication that you are not currently taking. If you do take any narcotics, lock them up so that your children cannot access them.

If you know a teen that is abusing prescription medication and may need teen rehab, please give us a call. We are always here to help.

Tags: oxycodone, oxycontin, pills, Prescription pills, teen drug abuse, Teen Drug Rehab, Teen Rehab
Posted in Blog, Kids and Drugs, Teen Drug Use, Teen Rehab | No Comments »

Teen Adderall Abuse

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Teen Adderall Abuse

by Scott Sowle

Executive Director - Newport Academy

The different forms of Adderall - a drug widely abused by teens.

Teen Adderall abuse has increased dramatically in the past few years with pediatricians writing more than half of the prescriptions for this highly addictive amphetamine. In fact, there has been a spike in prescriptions of over 500% in the past 10 years. Most notably, children and teens are prescribed Adderall for attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD.) When used as prescribed by a physician, Adderall can reduce anxiety in teens and calm their hyperactivity allowing them to more readily focus on tasks at hand. The problem with this however, is that there is a significant amount of misdiagnosis on the part of pediatricians and manipulation of symptoms on the part of teens who are drug seeking. Also, many teens who have been prescribed Adderall for obvious ADD or ADHD are often providing their friends with pills or selling them to classmates and other drug seeking teens. Additionally, Adderall is also one of the most highly sought after prescription medicines and is often stolen from those licensed to dispense it. More recently, and more alarmingly, teens are using the internet to obtain Adderall and other stimulants. According to recent data, over 4% of high school seniors reported non-medical use of stimulants and there are over 2,000 emergency room visits involving teens and stimulants every year. This number is obviously low as the number of teens who do under report or do not report their use is significant.

Unfortunately teens who begin use of stimulants such as Adderall for properly diagnosed ADD and ADHD, can easily abuse this amphetamine and become addicted. Signs of the onset of addiction to Adderall include irritability, weight loss, outbursts of aggression, paranoia, inability to sleep, picking at the skin, noticeable changes in appearance, and in some cases the onset of more serious psychiatric symptoms. This can be disconcerting to both and parents and teens, as the stimulant when first prescribed and introduced may have had desirous effects such as increased focus on school work and overall concentration. In short, Adderall needs to be prescribed by a physician who understand the potential for abuse, signs and symptoms of abuse, and effective treatment options if necessary. Parents need to be diligent about the use of stimulants such as Adderall, monitor that their children are using the stimulants as prescribed, monitor that pill counts are conducted routinely to make sure that their teen is not selling his/her prescribed medication, monitor their teens computers and internet access (as well as read their texts if necessary), and take a more proactive stance in monitoring their teens behavior.

If you are a parent who suspects that your teen may be abusing stimulants or if you’re a teen who is concerned about your own drug use, please feel free to call Newport Academy to discuss ways we can help you. Call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - 1.877.628.3367

Click here to read more about Newport Academy Teen Drug Rehab

Tags: teen adderall abuse, teen drug abuse, Teen Drug Rehab
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Where do teens get their OxyContin?

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Where do teens get their OxyContin?

Prescription pill abusers out number heroin, cocaine and meth combined.

One of the fastest growing drug addiction problems in the United States revolves around OxyContin - the powerful time-release prescription painkiller that has caused controversy almost since the day it was made available to public. Problems started occurring when individuals started abusing the drug - unaware of just how much more powerful it was than the other widely-used painkiller in the U.S., Vicodin. Individuals across the country were snorting or injecting OxyContin - thus receiving the entire dose contained inside the pill at once. Because OxyContin was designed to release smaller doses of the opiate over time, this led to emergency room visits, deaths by overdose and the nickname “hillbilly heroin” because of the strength and addictive nature of the medication.

Perhaps no group has fallen victim to the OxyContin “craze” more than teenagers. Teen OxyContin addiction is on the rise in the United States and currently shows no signs of slowing down. As we watch our children flirt with OxyContin use in school and at home, one is left with a disturbing question: how, exactly, do teenagers gain access to this dangerous drug?

From the Medicine Cabinet

Once a teenager learns about the euphoric effects associated with OxyContin, their first step is likely to be raiding their parents’ medicine chest. If a family member has been prescribed OxyContin as a means of helping them recovery from injury or illness or surgery, chances are there will be some “leftovers” of the drug still in the house. This becomes easy prey for the teen who is looking to get high.

Solution: Throw away all old, unused medication in the house. And keep potentially dangerous medications that are still being used under lock-and-key. Removing access to the drugs in your own home is one of the keys to prevention.

From Friends at School

One of the biggest challenges facing parents and teen drug rehab professionals is the fact that young people mistakenly view OxyContin and other prescription medications as a safer than illicit street drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Friends often play a dominant role in this regard, and they are ones who tend to spread misinformation about OxyContin and also offer access to the drug via their own connections.

Solution: A child who is well-educated about the potential dangers of prescription drugs is less likely to be swayed by peer pressure. Talk to your kids about OxyContin and other prescription drugs. At a young age, it is important to explain to them that they should NEVER take medication that was not prescribed to them by a doctor.

On the Internet

In the past several years, the internet has become overrun with illicit so-called pharmacies that offer prescription drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin to anyone will a major credit card and a mailing address. Amazingly, these businesses (which are often located outside the United States in a country with little or no government oversight) do not even require a medical examination - and rarely ask for the age of those ordering the drugs. They are responsible for shipping fake or unsafe versions of OxyContin around the world.

Solution: Parents should take the time to talk to their children about the dangers of Internet pharmacies. If teens are using computers in the home, parents should monitor their Internet use and review their browsing history to see if they have visited any illicit sites.

Parents can help turn the tide against OxyContin addiction by talking to their kids (at as early an age as possible) about the dangers of prescription drugs. The longer parents wait to have this conversation, the greater the chance that kids will make their own decisions about these dangerous medications.

Newport Academy offers teen drug rehab for young men and women who have seen their lives turned upside-down by prescription drug addiction. Contact Newport Academy today and help your teen get back on the right track through a program that works with the entire family to achieve addiction recovery and long-term success.

Tags: oxycontin, Teen Drug Rehab, Teen Rehab
Posted in Teen Drug Use | 2 Comments »