Prescription Pain Killers Have Serious Risks

Teen drug use is a very serious problem and one area where it is growing at an incredibly fast rate is prescription drug abuse. Unfortunately, this trend is very hard to combat due to the initial source of the drugs being medical professionals. For example, if a teen is injured during high school athletics most parents wouldn't hesitate to take them to a doctor and fill a pain killer prescription if that is what the doctor recommended. What these parents don't realize is how fast a teenager can get addicted to these dangerous drugs. Once the prescription runs out, these teens will often turn to illicit sources to fund their quickly growing habit. This same pattern is taking place across the country, and the trend will be hard to reverse until we acknowledge the inherent dangerous of prescription pain killers.

Heroine Use Is Rising In Teens

Once a teen is hooked on prescription pain killers, they will often quickly spend all the money they have available getting their fix. However, because these drugs are very expensive compared to other street drugs they generally eventually turn to these cheaper options. The drug they usually end up hooked on in this situation is heroin. Though much more dangerous, it provides a similar high to pain killers and can cost significantly less. This is the slippery slope that has forced thousands of teenagers into heroine addiction.

Help Your Teen Overcome Their Addiction

The lesson parents need to take away from this is how closely they should watch their teen if they are given a prescription for addictive drugs. Don't simply trust your son or daughter not to get hooked. Make sure they are using the prescription in a responsible way and never exceeding the recommended dosage. By taking these simple steps, you can ensure that your teen doesn't have a mild injury lead them to a life threatening addiction.

Check out this article for more information about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.