|
Photo NDIC and © Stockbyte™
Prescription drugs, a category of psychotherapeutics that comprises
prescription-type pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and
sedatives, are among the substances most commonly abused by young people
in the United States. Prescription drugs are readily available and can
easily be obtained by teenagers who abuse these drugs to experience a
variety of desired effects. Often these young people are unaware of the
serious health risks involved in abusing prescription drugs. Increasingly
younger adolescents obtain prescription drugs from classmates, friends,
and family members, or they steal the drugs from school medicine
dispensaries and from people for whom the drug had been legitimately
prescribed.
Table 1. Prescription
Drugs Frequently Abused by Young People
| Drug Type |
Common Brand Names |
Prescribed For |
Physiological Effects |
Adverse Effects |
| Opioids/pain
relievers |
Dilaudid, Lorcet,
Lortab, OxyContin, Percocet, Percodan, Tylox, Vicodin |
Pain, cough, diarrhea |
Affects brain
region that mediates pleasure resulting in euphoria |
Life-threatening
respiratory depression |
| Depressants (benzodiazepines,
tranquilizers, barbiturates, sedatives) |
Valium, Xanax |
Anxiety, sleep
disorders |
Slows down brain
activity resulting in a drowsy or calming effect |
Seizures,
respiratory depression, decreased heart rate |
| Stimulants |
Adderall,
Concerta, Ritalin |
Narcolepsy,
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obesity |
Enhances brain
activity resulting in an increase in alertness, attention, and energy |
High body
temperature, irregular heart rate, cardiovascular system failure, fatal
seizures, hostility or feelings of paranoia |
Source: National Institute on Drug
Abuse.
To Top To Contents
Prescription
Drug Abuse Among Young People
In the United States young people frequently abuse prescription drugs;
the only illicit drug that is abused more frequently is marijuana.
According to the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA),
10.9 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds reported nonmedical use of any
psychotherapeutic at least once during their lifetime compared with 18.3
percent who reported having abused marijuana. (See Table
2.) These figures
changed little from the previous year when 10.9 percent reported abusing a
psychotherapeutic and 18.7 percent reported abusing marijuana. (The abuse
of psychotherapeutics as reported by NHSDA denotes the nonmedical use of
psychotherapeutics, a category that comprises prescription-type pain
relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives.)
Table 2. Nonmedical Use
of Psychotherapeutics Among 12- to 17-Year-Olds, 1999-2000
| |
Lifetime |
Past Year |
Past Month |
| |
1999 |
2000 |
1999 |
2000 |
1999 |
2000 |
| Any Psychotherapeutic* |
10.9 |
10.9 |
7.1 |
7.1 |
2.9 |
3.0 |
| Pain Relievers |
8.2 |
8.4 |
5.5 |
5.4 |
2.1 |
2.3 |
| Tranquilizers |
2.5 |
2.5 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
| Sedatives |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
| Stimulants** |
3.9 |
4.0 |
2.1 |
2.4 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
Source: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, NHSDA.
*Denotes the nonmedical use of any prescription-type pain reliever,
tranquilizer, stimulant, or sedative; does not include over-the-counter
drugs.
**Includes methamphetamine.
Prescription drugs, which are widely available and easy to obtain,
provide young people with an easily accessible, inexpensive means of
altering their mental and physical state. Abusers may experience a
heightened sense of pleasure, euphoria, drowsiness, increased energy, or
various other effects depending upon the drugs they abuse. Young people
who abuse prescription drugs put themselves at risk of experiencing
dangerous side effects. Prescription drugs--when taken as prescribed by a
physician--successfully treat a variety of mental or physical conditions.
However, when abused, these drugs can alter the brain's activity and lead
to debilitating or life-threatening health problems and result in physical
or psychological dependence.
To Top To Contents
Commonly Abused
Prescription Drugs
The prescription drugs that are most commonly abused by young people fall
into three categories: opioids/pain relievers, depressants, and stimulants.
Opioids/Pain Relievers. The abuse of opioids/pain relievers by young
people is a particular concern. According to the 2000 NHSDA, 8.4 percent of 12-
to 17-year-olds reported having abused pain relievers at least once in their
lifetime. NHSDA data also indicate that 12- to 17-year-olds represented
approximately one-half of the 1.4 million individuals who abused opioids/pain
relievers for the first time in 1999. The number of new abusers aged 12 to 17
who reported nonmedical use of opioids/pain relievers increased nearly tenfold,
from 78,000 in 1985 to 722,000 in 1999. Data from the Monitoring the Future (MTF)
Study indicate that in 2001, 9.9 percent of twelfth graders surveyed in the
United States reported having abused other narcotics--a category that includes
opioids and pain relievers and excludes heroin--at least once in their lifetime.
OxyContin is a brand name for oxycodone, a Schedule II drug. Oxycodone also
is sold under the trade names Percocet, Percodan, and Tylox. It is an
opium-based pain reliever that is prescribed for relief of moderate to severe
pain. Law enforcement reporting indicates that OxyContin, which has heroin-like
effects that last up to 12 hours, is the fastest growing threat among oxycodone
products.
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in 2001 law
enforcement agencies and drug treatment providers in Boston, Detroit, Miami, and
St. Louis as well as in Portland, Maine, and Billings, Montana, reported that
many 13- to 17-year-olds became first-time OxyContin users, without previously
having used heroin or other prescription opioids.
|
Georgia Teenager Indicted
In December 2001 a 17-year-old Georgia resident was indicted on
manslaughter and reckless conduct charges for supplying OxyContin to a
15-year-old who died from an overdose of the drug.
Source: Associated Press, 5 December 2001.
|
Data provided by the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) indicate that
admissions to publicly funded facilities involving 12- to 17-year-olds seeking
treatment for abuse of other opiates/synthetics--a category that excludes heroin
and nonprescription methadone--increased from 115 in 1995 to 191 in 1999.
To Top To Contents
Depressants. According to 2000 NHSDA data, 2.5 percent of 12- to
17-year-olds reported abusing tranquilizers at least once in their lifetime. The
data also indicate that 0.8 percent of young people in this age group abused
sedatives at least once in their lifetime. (See Table 2.) MTF data indicate that
in 2001, 9.2 percent of twelfth graders reported having abused tranquilizers at
least once in their lifetime, and 8.7 percent reported having abused
barbiturates at least once in their lifetime. (See Table 3.)
Table 3. Lifetime Abuse of Other Narcotics, Tranquilizers, and Barbiturates
Among Twelfth Graders, 1997-2001
| |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
| Other Narcotics* |
9.7 |
9.8 |
10.2 |
10.6 |
9.9 |
| Tranquilizers |
7.8 |
8.5 |
9.3 |
8.9 |
9.2 |
| Barbiturates |
8.1 |
8.7 |
8.9 |
9.2 |
8.7 |
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National
Institutes of Health, MTF.
*Excludes heroin.
Substance abuse treatment data indicate that abuse of tranquilizers by
adolescents is an increasing concern. Data provided by TEDS indicate that
admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities involving 12- to 17-year-olds
seeking treatment for tranquilizer abuse increased from 97 in 1995 to 211 in
1999. Among the same age group, admissions for sedative/hypnotic abuse increased
from 95 in 1995 to 118 in 1997, then decreased slightly to 113 in 1999.
Table 4. Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities 12-
to 17-Year-Olds, 1995-1999
| |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
| Other Opiates/Synthetics* |
115 |
140 |
140 |
147 |
191 |
| Tranquilizers |
97 |
93 |
133 |
140 |
211 |
| Sedatives/Hypnotics |
95 |
97 |
118 |
114 |
113 |
| Other Stimulants** |
182 |
266 |
174 |
183 |
135 |
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, TEDS.
*Excludes heroin and nonprescription methadone.
**Excludes methamphetamine and other amphetamines.
To Top To Contents
|
Students Abuse Xanax
Middle school students in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were treated at local
hospitals in January 2002 after ingesting Xanax, a benzodiazepine.
Twenty-eight students at a Philadelphia middle school ingested the drug after
a 13-year-old stole a bottle of 100 Xanax tablets from a relative and
distributed the tablets during school hours.
Source: Philadelphia Police Department.
|
Stimulants. Data from NHSDA indicate that the percentage of 12- to
17-year-olds who reported having abused stimulants at least once in their
lifetime in 1999 (3.9%) was comparable to the percentage in 2000 (4.0%). (See Table
2.) In 1999 approximately 50 percent of the 646,000 new stimulant abusers
were aged 12 to 17, according to NHSDA. TEDS data indicate that the number of
admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities that involved 12- to
17-year-olds seeking treatment for stimulant abuse fluctuated from 182 in 1995
to 135 in 1999.
Ritalin (methylphenidate) is one of the stimulants most commonly abused by
young people. It is an amphetamine-like central nervous system stimulant with
properties that are similar to cocaine. Individuals abuse Ritalin to increase
alertness, lose weight, and experience the euphoric effects resulting from high
doses. Under the Controlled Substances Act, Ritalin is a Schedule II drug. It is
produced commercially in 5-, 10-, and 20-milligram tablets. The drug usually is
ingested orally; however, when used nonmedically, it can be ground into a powder
and snorted like cocaine or dissolved in water and injected like heroin.
The potential for diversion of the drug is high because two to four million
children and one million adults nationwide are prescribed Ritalin legally.
Ritalin is a stimulant and typically is prescribed for children diagnosed with
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. According to the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), illicit prices for a 20-milligram tablet can range from $2
to $20 depending upon location.
To Top To Contents
Young people rarely obtain prescription drugs using methods commonly
associated with pharmaceutical diversion such as pharmacy theft, prescription
fraud, or doctor shopping--visiting numerous doctors to obtain multiple
prescriptions. Instead, adolescents typically obtain prescription drugs from
peers, friends, or family members. Law enforcement officers report that in some
cases, particularly with regard to the stimulant Ritalin, teenagers who have
legitimate prescriptions sell or give away the drug. Young people also acquire
prescription drugs by stealing them from relatives and other individuals with
legitimate prescriptions or from school medicine dispensaries.
|
Illinois Students Distributing Prescription Drugs
In May 2002 authorities at a high school in Mahomet, Illinois, discovered
that 16 students were distributing Ritalin, OxyContin, and hydrocodone to
other students. The school principal was alerted to the students' activities
after he received a phone call from a parent who believed his son may have
taken OxyContin from the parent's medicine cabinet to sell at school.
According to the school superintendent, the students were selling their own
medication or medication belonging to their parents or siblings.
Illinois school authorities plan to implement new programs to combat future
prescription drug abuse by students, including education programs for students
and parents. One proposed program would ensure that drug counselors are easily
accessible so that students may discuss problems they or their friends are
having. Authorities also plan to include the topic of drugs as a regular
agenda item of school safety committees in order to discuss issues that emerge
within the school and in surrounding school districts.
Source: Associated Press, 24 May 2002.
|
To Top To Contents
Young people will continue to abuse prescription drugs, the age at which they
begin to abuse these drugs will continue to decrease, and rates of abuse will
likely increase. Data provided by NHSDA and MTF indicate that the percentage of
adolescents who abuse certain prescription drugs is high and increasing. The
number of treatment admissions, although relatively stable at low levels, also
is likely to increase as more youth experiment with and become addicted to
prescription drugs. Law enforcement agencies, healthcare providers, school
officials, social workers, and parents will continually be challenged to develop
innovative approaches to address this problem. Such approaches may include
informing young people of the risks associated with prescription drug abuse via
antidrug messages and educational programs.
Associated Press
Executive Office of the President
Office Of National Drug Control Policy
KHOU News (Houston, TX)
Palm Beach (FL) Post
Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
Monitoring the Future
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
Treatment Episode Data Set
|
