More prescription drugs for teenagers

"The chance that a teenager or young adult will received a prescription for a controlled medication has nearly doubled in the last 15 years," according to a study summarized in an article in Reuters.

The article goes on to say, "In 2007, one of out every nine teens . . . received prescriptions for medication such as pain killers, sedatives and stimulants that could potentially be abused, the study, led by Robert Fortuna at the University of Rochester in New York, warned."

"While he told Reuters Health that this doesn't necessarily mean that teenagers and young adults will either abuse the medications or pass them onto others, it does reinforce the need to let people know how dangerous the drugs can be -- and the need to monitor their use."

Where teens hear prevention messages

A national survey finds a decrease in the percentage of teenagers seeing substance abuse prevention messages in the media. The same report shows a significant rise in the level of teenagers who engaged in substance abuse-related conversations with at least one parent.

The Teen Brain Explained

This week, I've heard about a two teenagers, different families, with behavior that's left their parents baffled. So when I came across "A Parent's Guide to the Teen Brain" from the Partnership for a Drug Free America, I promptly sent it along. Here's the intro:

You’ve come to the right place if you’re one of the millions of parents who have ever wondered:

• “Who is this kid?”
• “Why does my teen do that?”
• ”What can I do?”

If you find you're living with "Miss Impulsive", "The Mood Swinger", "The BFF" or any of the other easy-to-recognize teen behaviors, you have to check out this site. (Add this to your bookmark/favorites right below PreventionWorksinSeattle.org )