The problem with illicit drugs is bad everywhere. It is no surprise that even the “Mile-High” city of Denver and the state of Colorado are being ravaged by prescription medication abuse.
In my previous blog entry I discussed how the number of overdose deaths from opioid analgesics was twice as high as those from drunk-driving. As reported in trinidad-times.com.
Scary, Scary Stats
A recent to the to the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Colorado has the second-worst rate of pain pill abuse in the U.S. A 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in Colorado revealed that 29.2 percent of high school seniors had taken a prescription medication without a doctor’s prescription at least once in their lifetime. That’s higher than the national average of 25.6 percent.
Many teens feel that prescription drugs are safer to use than street drugs since a physician prescribes them. Part if the problem is parents not turning in their expired prescriptions. The crazy thing is that prescription medications are often easier for teens to get than beer because prescription medications are easily obtained from friends and family medicine cabinets.
I am a firm believer that we need to do our best to keep kids from ever experimenting with prescription medication. While peer pressure is great, it is important to realize that parental involvement in their kids’ lives can be crucially important. Minor in Possession classes can help with education. Visit: http://www.onlinedrugclass.com/MIPClass to learn more.