From the CDC – One in 5 U.S. high school students say they have ever taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription, according to the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the first year the survey assessed prescription drug abuse among high school students. The YRBS has been conducted every other year since 1991.
The survey asked if they’d ever taken a prescription drug such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin, or Xanax, without a doctor’s prescription.
While this is alarming, it shouldn’t be surprising, frankly. Prescription drugs have been pushed on Americans for every feeling or malady imaginable and drug companies have marketed their products (often fraudulently) to doctors and consumers to get people to buy them. So if millions of American adults think taking these drugs are okay, then of course our children will follow suit.
This is still in the beginning stages of the epidemic, as more people continue to seek drug rehab centers for prescription drug addiction than ever. If you or someone you love is in need of help for being dependent on prescriptions or other drugs, contact us today for help finding a successful addiction recovery program.
Tags: addiction recovery, drug rehab centers, prescription drug addiction