Teen prescription drug abuse
July 1, 2007
Teens often take prescription
drugs prescribed for peers
Caregivers have been prescribing
psychotropic medication for adolescents in increasing
numbers. Although the prescriptions may be appropriate,
sometimes the medication ends up in the hands of
people other than the intended patients, reports
the July 2007 issue of the Harvard Mental Health
Letter. In fact, surveys show that about 1 teenager
in 10 uses prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes.
In a recent survey of more than 1,000 middle and high
school students, researchers sought to find out how
often drugs were diverted and how they were used. In
the study, up to 60% of students receiving legitimate
prescriptions had been approached to divert their medications.
About 1 in 10 traded medication. A smaller proportion
sold it, and as many as 25% gave it to friends or family
members.
There is still much to learn about the motivation
and context of all this sharing and trading, says the Harvard
Mental Health Letter. We do know that not all
rerouting is for recreation. Often the aim seems to
be relief of pain, anxiety, or insomnia.
Some experts blame clinicians for writing too many
prescriptions. But the researchers believe the problem
may be that prescribers find it difficult to discuss
the issue of diversion with patients and their families.
Dr. Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard
Mental Health Letter,notes, “What
helps an anxious child may be poison for a substance-abusing
child, but sometimes the two illnesses occur in the
same child. Thus a simple solution like reducing
the total number of prescriptions cannot work. The
real task is to figure out which kids need which
medicines and make sure that only those kids get
the medicines. Not easy.”
Also in this issue:
- Antidepressants and
suicide
- How Alcoholics Anonymous works
- Finding the right treatment for depression
- Patient treatment preferences affect outcomes of
medical trials
 Related
Information
Harvard Mental Health Letter is available
from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division
of the Harvard Medical School. You can subscribe at www.health.harvard.edu/mental or
by calling 1-877-649-9457 toll-free.
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Women's Health Watch, Harvard
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Mental Health Letter, and Harvard
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Source: Harvard
Health Publications
Contact: hhpmedia@hms.harvard.edu
Web site: http://www.health.harvard.edu |
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