It's been an issue nationwide for quite some time and now professionals are saying prescription drug abuse among teenagers is once again on the rise.
It has been in the news for quite some time, but while you may not hear about it as much lately, that doesn't mean it's faded away. In fact many professionals say it's even getting even worse.
"Usually the problem with these addictions that get established is that they get worse over time, never better," Carroll Institute's Clinical and Prevention Service Director Brad Patterson said.
It's not hard for teens to open the medicine cabinet and grab a handful of pills of one kind or another. Patterson says it's very easy for someone to become an addict.
"Even at the end of a standard prescription, such as a prescription of Percocet or Vicodin, there will be minor with drawls that an individual will experience," Patterson said.
He says if your child is lethargic, falling asleep under odd circumstances, won't wake up and is just numb, they may be using prescription drugs.
Patterson says if you think your child is using, you should get a urinary analysis right away because the drug generally only stays in the system for three to four days. You can even buy the test kits at many local drug stores.
"So if you have a suspicion the best time to get that test is as close to your suspicion as possible. Waiting until the weekend may produce a negative result," Patterson said.
And it's not all that hard to overdose, which can send your teenager into cardiac arrest.
"They literally can take so many of these opiate based pills that they can literally shut their systems down," Patterson said.
Patterson says one Oxycodone pill is worth around $40 to $50 on the street.
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