A recent study suggested that illegal “street” drugs were on
a decline while prescription drug abuse was on the rise. In particular, the adolescent
demographic prescription drug abuse epidemic was frightening with some studies
suggesting that 10% of teenagers (age 12-17) receiving emergency treatment
admitted to abusing prescription drugs.
This is the total number of teens admitting prescription drug abuse not the
total number of teens on prescription drugs.
Other studies show that in cases of over dose there are
roughly 45% which can be attributed back to prescription drug abuse while the
total combined illegal “street” drugs contribute to only 40%.
The most shocking aspect of these individual cases is that
they are quickly becoming the norm in drug abuse. One of the leading reasons these trends
continue to rise is due to the availability of prescription drugs.
