This video is from the Partnership at DrugFree.org Medicine Abuse Project:
Among NE
Seattle teenagers, the abuse of prescription drugs has steadily increased over
the past six years. While the Prevention
WINS Coalition is currently conducting a community assessment to determine what
local conditions are contributing to this rise in abuse, the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that “multiple factors are likely at work:
Misperceptions about their safety. Because
these medications are prescribed by doctors, many assume that they are safe to
take under any circumstances. This is not the case. Prescription drugs act
directly or indirectly on the same brain systems affected by illicit drugs.
Using a medication other than as prescribed can potentially lead to a variety
of adverse health effects, including overdose and addiction.
Increasing environmental
availability. Between 1991 and 2010,
prescriptions for stimulants increased from 5 million to nearly 45 million and
for opioid analgesics from about 75.5 million to 209.5 million.
Varied motivations for their abuse. Underlying
reasons include: to get high; to counter anxiety, pain, or sleep problems; or
to enhance cognition. Whatever the motivation, prescription drug abuse comes
with serious risks.”
Individuals and organizations have
roles to play in addressing these factors.
Everyone can:
- Educate their students, clients, co-workers, friends, neighbors, and families about the harms that are associated with the mis-use of medicines.
- Dispose of unused medications either at a Group Health or participating Bartell pharmacy. Some other pharmacies sell medicine return envelopes and the Drug Enforcement Administration hosts semi-annual medicine take-back days.
- Recognize and address anxiety, pain, and sleep problems that teenagers may be facing.
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