1 IN 4 TEENS REPORT MISUSE OR ABUSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AT LEAST ONCE—THAT IS A 33% INCREASE IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS
oids—can be every bit as dangerous and harmful as those illicit street drugs,” said Steve Pasierb, President and CEO of Te Partnership at
Drugfree.org.
What can be done? Parents can start by talking with their teens early and oſten about the dangers of abus- ing prescription drugs. Medicine cabinets should be cleaned out and the medications safely disposed of at collection sites set up by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Justice Department. Home drug test- ing kits are available for parents who want to test their teens in the privacy of their own homes, including kits that can detect use for up to three months prior for com- mon prescription drugs7
. Schools can also play a large role in the ed-
ucation and deterrence of prescription drug abuse by teens. Many schools have imple- mented drug testing programs with the goal of “deterring” use and identifying students in need of help, rather than “catching” a drug user. Depending on the type of school and environment, schools may choose to test 1) all students, 2) just the students engaged in extracurricular activities, 3) students whose be havior suggests possible drug use (“rea- sonable suspicion testing”), or 4) students whose parents have consented to testing (“voluntary” or “opt-in” testing). Dr. George Elder, former Headmaster
of Tuscaloosa Academy in Alabama, insti- tuted a universal mandatory drug testing program at his school for all students in grades 7–128
istration (FDA) convened a panel made up of scientists, pain doctors and other experts, who voted in January to toughen restrictions on painkillers containing hydrocodone. Te new recommendation would limit access to the drugs by making them harder to prescribe. Refills without a new prescription would be forbidden, along with faxed prescriptions and those called in by phone. If the FDA accepts the recommendation made by the panel, it will be sent to officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which will make the final determination. Te CDC has also called for improve-
ments in the system, including “beter tracking of prescription overdose trends to beter understand the epidemic,” along with urging patients to talk to their doctors about pain treatment plans that exclude prescrip- tion drugs. Doctors are oſten caught in the middle
because pain is a hard thing to measure and verify. Some states help control “doctor shopping” with a drug registry that allows doctors to see the narcotics that have been prescribed to a particular person anywhere in the state. Doctors oſten take the time to diagnose and rule out genuine medical problems, only to find out that a patient is just seeking pain medicine. Te prescription drug OxyContin has also been reformulated to make it difficult to crush and snort, and therefore less desirable. Law enforcement agencies are aggres-
. In his words, “[d]rug testing
changed the culture of the school, greatly enhanced its reputation in the community and provided students with a strong reason to reject peer pressure and participate in destructive be havior.”
Efforts to Control the Epidemic In an atempt to help control prescription drug abuse, the Food and Drug Admin-
www.datia.org
sively pursuing drug mills and clinics that sell these drugs and prescriptions illegally. Te influx of narcotic and heroin overdoses has also prompted changes in enforcement tactics, and dealers/suppliers are now be- ing aggressively targeted. Paramedics are instructed to treat overdoses like a crime and detectives are immediately dispatched. Te person who sold the prescription opiate or heroin can be prosecuted under a law that bans distribution of illicit substances and allows additional penalties for a death.
Future Outlook Communities are beginning to under- stand the dangers of prescription drug abuse. New regulations and restrictions should make doctors think twice before prescribing these narcotics. Te medical system and federal regulators are working to make adjustments to reduce the potential for abuse. A collective effort in recent years by
federal, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies and medical com- munities has atempted to control the alarming rise of prescription drug abuse, and worked to reduce the number of prescriptions being issued for commonly abused opiates. By working together, we can put an end
to the explosive growth of the nonmedi- cal use of prescription opiates and help to ensure that this epidemic does not continue. ❚
Footnotes 1
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention— MMWR July 2, 2013
3
April 2013 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association
4
http://www.jsonline.com/features/health/many-injured-workers- remain-on-opioids-study-finds-km72v1g-172331511.html
5
www.news-medical.net/news/20100917/opiate-usage- increases-in-workplace-and-ER.aspx
6 The Partnership at
Drugfree.org 2012 study 7
www.drugfreeteenagers.com
8
http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/ file/1104210336469-49/High+School+(Private)+Case+ Study+-+Psychemedics.pdf
Sheryl Maddox is the Marketing Manager for Psychemedics Corporation (
www.psychemedics.com), the pioneer and global leader in hair drug testing. Sheryl
has been involved in the drug and alcohol testing industry for over five years and currently serves as a member of DATIA’s Communication Committee.
datia focus 41
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