Teen Prescription Abuse
A new study shows teens are abusing prescription drugs in increasing numbers, and that parents could even be encouraging it.
FOX News Radio’s Eben Brown reports:
A quarter of teens say they take ADHD pills like Ritalin without prescriptions, and that they don’t think it’s dangerous, but it’s not for fun…
(Dr. Pasierb) “But much more about managing their life. ‘I use this because I have tests. I use this because I’m a driven kid. I’m not a stoner.'”
Says Dr. Steve Pasierb of the partnership at drugfree.org, which commissioned the study. It also shows a third of parents don’t understand prescription drugs are supposed to be medicines.
(Dr. Pasierb) “They smoked weed. They did other things. So parents say they believe this is a safer way to get high. They believe that it’s okay to abuse the stimulants if it leads to better test grades.”
Eben Brown, FOX News Radio.
Editor’s Note: The authors of the study say parents need to be better educated about prescription drug abuse so they, in turn, can better educate their children.
