Northern Light Pediatrics-Newsletter

Suspect teen drug abuse? Check your medicine cabinet

The liquor cabinet may no longer be the only cabinet in need of a lock. "We have to think about the newfangled medicine chest as potentially an issue that needs to be monitored," said Howard Markel, M.D., FAAP.

Teenagers steal prescription drugs from their parents, buy them from friends or purchase them on the Internet, according to Peter Rogers, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, a pediatric substance abuse expert. Abusing prescription drugs, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, can lead to trips to the emergency room or even death.

Parents play an important part in educating their teenagers against the dangers of abuse, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Some tips for parents include:

Be alert. All children at some point will experience peer pressure to try drugs. "They're going to be exposed to substances of abuse and they're going to have the peer pressure to try them," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
"It can happen to any child."
Talk to your kids frankly and frequently. Maintain an ongoing, honest dialogue with your children about prescription drugs.
Monitor your own drug and alcohol use. Adolescents with parents who use are also more likely to use.
Be careful with prescription drugs. Either lock your medicine cabinet or count your pills to make sure that none are missing.
Know where your child is. Have your child report in periodically or call your child's cell phone to check his or her location.
Look for changes in behavior. Any behavioral changes should alert parents to the possibility of drug use.
Confront them. Be proactive. Tell your adolescent what is and is not acceptable to you.

Even casual use of drugs by children and adolescents, regardless of amount or frequency, is illegal and has potential adverse health consequences. If your child has a dependency on prescription drugs, consult your pediatrician for a referral to a family therapist or substance abuse expert.

-Zach Samson
-2006 American Academy of Pediatrics, June of 2006