KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffRising Prescription Drug Abuse in Teens

Rising Prescription Drug Abuse in Teens

Rising Prescription Drug Abuse in Teens
By: Christy Hendricks

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - More and more young people are finding it's often easier to get their hands on prescription pills than other drugs and this gives a whole new meaning to driving while intoxicated.

"The rise in prescription drug abuse is huge," said Jim Ray, program director of the Family Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau.  "I would say 30 percent of our women here are prescription drug abuse only.  I would say 80% have abused prescription drugs.

Ray says prescription drug abuse is a problem that's boiling over.  He says most teens who come to the center have abused prescription pills.  Some say they've even gone to what they call 'pharm' parties.  The 'pharm' stands for pharmacy.

"The put all the pills in a bowl.  Everybody brings pills put in a big container and scoops out a handful and takes them and they sit back and see what happens," Ray said.

Taking that much can have deadly effects.  Michelle was hooked on Xanax for 10 years.

"Approximately three months ago I overdosed on a combination of tranzedone and xanax and was on life support for about seven days, almost dying," Michelle said.

She and two other women who agreed to talk without showing their faces or real names all got their drugs from their doctor.  They say it's easy for teens to get their hands on pills.

"These parents need to understand you don't have to be an adult and be prescribed the pills to get hooked on it.  If this pill is in your house, there's a good opportunity that your children are going to get hooked on it also," said Jean. 

And that can bring a whole new meaning to driving under the influence.

"I did have a DUI and that was due to prescription medication and I served 30 days in the county jail for it," said Sara.

Lt. Rodney Barnes with the Jackson police department says they treat a sobriety test for someone under the influence of prescription pills the same as they do with alcohol.

"Once we feel that person is impaired by some type of other substance, we'll bring them in and we'll have one our drug recognition experts come in and they'll go through their process with them," Barnes said.

Everyone I talked with say since prescripton pills can be obtained legally, it doesn't carry the same stigma as other drugs or even alcohol for teens.