A new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University indicates that prescription drug use is the fastest growing problem among American teenagers and is almost at epidemic proportions among teens today.
However, the study also says that despite the fact that more people abuse prescription drugs than abuse cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin combined, not enough is being done by local health and law enforcement officials to address the problem.
Approximately 15.1 million people abuse prescription drugs in this country and 2.3 million of them are teenagers. Teens are turning to prescription drugs at alarming rates. Many hold 'pharming parties' where prescription drugs from home or purchased on the street are traded and taken so teens can get high.
'Availability is the mother of abuse,' Joseph A. Califano Jr., the center's chairman and former U.S. secretary of Health, Education and Welfare told the 'Washington Post.' 'When I was young my parents would lock their liquor cabinet. It may be parents should be thinking of locking their medicine cabinets.'
Califano only sees the situation getting worse in the future. 'Add in that we're inventing more and better and more powerful drugs of all these types all the time and you have to see that there are going to be more substances available, not fewer, ' he said.
The availability of prescription drugs over the Internet makes it difficult to prevent teens from obtaining the medication easily.
It remains to be seen if the government will do anything to address this growing problem.
