Prescription Drug Addiction Targets Teens
It is a well known fact that prescription drug addiction is the nation’s new drug epidemic and has some mental health officials baffled as to its cause. For drug rehab counselors working hands on in the addiction field it is no mystery. All drugs have a point of origin, when correlating the number of addicts entering treatment with the number of prescription drugs being distributed it’s not really hard to figure out. Recent studies show the biggest percentage of those abusing prescription drugs are teenagers.
For years treatment professionals have known almost immediately what drugs of concern should be. Although there is a slight delay from distribution to treatment admission, the sequence is much quicker than scientific studies show. Addiction treatment professionals have known for years substance abuse starts early, often as young as 10-11. However the majority of addiction cases usually start between 12-17 years of age based on scientific studies.
Many health professionals may or may not consider the influencing factors for this but there are many. One example would be parent involvement. The less interaction with parents during teenage year’s lack of monitoring plays a huge part in drug abuse incidents. The earlier the age youth are required parental supervision determines what age poor choices are made by teenagers. The earlier this new found total freedom and independence plays huge role in the age addiction starts. The longer you can keep a child drug free the less chance addiction will occur at later ages.
Often parents relish the idea of getting some free time while allowing teenagers independence. This new found freedom and lack of drug education makes a dangerous mixture. Teenagers are more apt to rebel, want to fit in or just try to have fun while not realizing the dangers involved. These times are when teens make wrong moves, thinking they will never turn out to be a drug addict and criminal committing degrading acts to support their drug or alcohol habit.
The majority of addicts are coming straight out of a doctor’s office with 38% of the prescription drug addicts being between the ages of 12-17 years. Many of these youth move onto to heroin because heroin is much easier to obtain. With that knowledge knowing the exact number of addicts affected by prescription drugs is hard to ascertain as many enter treatment suffering heroin addiction. Quite often these youngsters are prescribed alternative drugs like Suboxone or methadone as a means to fight off the urges, only to become addicted to these drugs or continue abusing other prescription drugs.
As many as 7,000 kids a day abuse a prescription drug in the United States the majority of who have either been prescribed the drug or given the drug by family or friends. These numbers are increasing and will continue to do so until those responsible are held accountable for the drugs final destination.
Robert Otis is an addiction counselor experienced in the field of drug and alcohol addiction treatment and works to help educate people about the danger of substance abuse. He writes articles for Drug Rehab Texas about the drug problems and effective rehabilitation methods.
Heroin Addiction: Suffering from heroin addiction? Pittsburgh – Watch video
Ready to get help for your heroin addiction? Pittsburgh residents, if youre ready to start the road to recovery, watch this video. The caring professionals of our healing network will introduce you to our rehab centers. When addiction to drugs occurs along with other mental disorders, you need treatment for both. Our network specializes in treating co-occurring disorders. Call for help today!
Video Rating: 0 / 5
Related Heroin Addiction Information…