Teen Prescription Drug Addiction

Table of Contents
Painkillers
Stimulants
Depressants
Why Addiction Occurs
The Road to Addiction
Finding the Problem

Every other year, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveys teens to determine the steps they’re taking to care for their health. In 2010, researchers included new questions in the survey; they began asking the students about their prescription drug use. In this study, one in five students reported that they had taken a prescription medication at least once when the medication was not prescribed for them.

This sort of experimentation is not new. Adolescence is a time for exploration, and teens have long been interested in learning more about the effects of drugs and alcohol. Research suggests, however, that more teens are experimenting with prescription drugs than ever before. To give just one example, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, non-medical use of the painkiller Oxycontin has risen in 10th graders from 3.9 percent in 2007 to 4.6 percent in 2010.

Simply using a medication doesn’t make a teen an addict. In fact, some teens may be able to use these medications without ever becoming addicted. But, other students are at high risk of developing a serious and debilitating addiction to these substances.

Oxycontin Prescription Drug AddictionPainkillers

Medications such as OxyContin and Percocet are commonly found in American medicine cabinets, and for good reason. These drugs are extremely helpful for people experiencing pain. After a major surgery, serious injury or big dental procedure, these medications can reduce inflammation and discomfort and make it easier for the patient to heal. Often, doctors prescribe these medications in large quantities, allowing the person to have many more pills than needed, in case the pain comes back. The patient might leave the pills behind when the pain is gone, and curious teens may begin to experiment with those leftover pills.

Painkillers can be dangerous for addicts because most of them are designed to provide pain relief for a long period of time. Addicts can subvert this system, however, by simply crushing and snorting the pills. Then, all of the painkilling benefits of the pills hit the system in one big rush. According to an article published in the Digital Journal, some manufacturers build in safeguards to prevent this abuse. The medications might become inert when crushed, for example, or the pills might turn to jelly when exposed to water, so the ingredients can’t be injected. But not all manufacturers offer these tweaks, meaning that many dangerous drugs continue to flood the market.

Stimulants

Some teens are prescribed medications like Adderall or Ritalin in order to help them cope with the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While these drugs might be incredibly beneficial when they are taken properly, they can also be incredibly damaging when they are taken improperly. According to a study published in the Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the drug in these medications provides an effect similar to cocaine when it is snorted through the nose. Teens may become addicted to this feeling and they may use extremely high doses of the drug during their addictions. Most doctors prescribe about 30 mg per day. Addicted teens might take as much as 1,000 mg in a single dose.

xanax prescription drug abuseDepressants

Drugs such as Valium and Xanax are often prescribed to help people deal with anxiety and sleeplessness. Teens who feel edgy and anxious may also benefit from these drugs, but again, once the addiction takes hold, the teen may take extremely high doses of the drugs. At high doses, these drugs can cause dangerous symptoms such as:

  • Slow pulse
  • Labored breathing, or inability to breathe
  • Impaired coordination
  • Low blood pressure

Why Addiction Occurs

While each drug interacts on the body a bit differently, most prescription medications attack a part of the brain known as the dopamine pathway. When the drugs enter the body, they move to the brain and stimulate the brain to release dopamine. This chemical is often used by the brain when something good is about to happen. The person feels alert, warm, happy and relaxed, in a perfect state to respond to something wonderful. The drugs may cause this feeling of happiness for minutes or even hours in someone taking drugs, and it can be powerfully addictive. The body’s systems know that this high level of dopamine isn’t normal, and they may move to compensate by reducing the body’s ability to feel dopamine. The body may also stop producing dopamine of its own. The addict must compensate by taking higher and higher doses of the drug and even then, the person may not feel the same sort of euphoria.

Just because the euphoria is gone, the addiction is not. The person may feel less euphoria and still may want to take the drug. According to an article published in Cognitive Science, there is a strong distinction between liking the drug and wanting the drug. When a teen addict finds that a drug is no longer pleasurable or no longer likeable, the teen may still crave and want the drug. The addiction has taken hold. The teen may need to take the drug in order to feel normal. Parents who believe their teens are using drugs in order to feel good or have fun should pay special attention to this fact. Teens in the throes of addiction are rarely enjoying themselves. In fact, they may be incredibly depressed and low as a result of their addiction. Some even contemplate suicide due to their deepening sense of isolation and depression.

Teens may be at particular risk for developing an addiction to prescription medications. Their brains are still developing, and some changes just make them more vulnerable to addiction processes. More adults are taking prescription medications than ever before. This means addiction is becoming more and more common in teens. They’re primed for addiction and the drugs are easier than ever to find. This collision was made clear in a study published as part of the 2011 American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting. Researchers found that while only 3.8 percent of teens reported addiction in 1976, 7.9 percent reported addiction in 2009. Teens are just too susceptible to addiction to powerful medications, and more teens seem to fall prey each year.

Road to prescription Drug Addiction The Road to Addiction

Some teens begin taking prescription medications because they’re given orders from their doctors. Teens in severe pain or teens with legitimate medical conditions such as ADHD often need medications to treat their symptoms and allow them to heal. Other teens, however, take these medications when they have absolutely no need for them. They simply found the drugs interesting, started taking them, and find themselves unable to stop.

According to a publication produced by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, teens rarely buy medications from online retailers. There are many stores that sell prescriptions to anyone, regardless of prescription status, but less than one percent of teens take advantage of these sites. Instead, most teens get their medications from people they know. Less than 10 percent purchased the drugs from strangers. Most were given the drugs for free.

Some teens exhaust their supply of free and easily accessible drugs and they turn to more dangerous routes in order to feed their addictions. Street drugs such as heroin may interact on the same dopamine pathways, and teens may find that it’s less expensive to buy heroin than it is to buy prescription drugs. Drug enforcement officials in some states are even calling prescription medications “gateway drugs” in some news reports, as they’ve seen many teens move from the medicine cabinet to the streets, looking for a hit.

Finding the Problem

Spotting an addiction in a teen is never easy, but there are some warning signs to watch for. Teens who are abusing prescription drugs may:

  • Have slurred speech or dilated pupils
  • Seem sleepy one moment and agitated the next
  • Perform poorly in school or in sports
  • Ask for money or frequent medication refills
  • Seem secretive and withdrawn

Parents taking prescription drugs may notice that their pill bottles seem to empty out quickly, or they may find that their teens are calling in refills on their behalf. Most experts agree that parents should keep all medications in a locked cabinet, away from the curious hands of teens, and this may be an excellent step to take whether or not the teen in the household has a current problem with drugs.

If you know your teen is dealing with a prescription medication addiction, however, you’ll need to do more than simply lock up the pills. The teen may need a more serious intervention in order to truly heal. Locking up the pills may stop the teen from using in the moment, but it won’t help the teen deal with addiction triggers the next time they arrive. Teens addicted to prescription medications often need detoxification help, followed by counseling sessions. We offer these programs at Newport Academy, and we have several inspiring success stories of recovery to share. Please contact us today and find out more about how we can help.