Prescription Drugs
Prescription drugs can bring relief to people with medical conditions and chronic pain. However, if taken without a prescription or abused in another way, they can cause serious harm.
Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs is the fastest-growing drug problem in the United States, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Painkillers, also called opioids, are the most commonly abused prescription drugs.
Prescription drugs fall into three main groups:
- Opioids, such as Oxycontin, codeine and Vicodin.
- Depressants, such as Valium and Xanax.
- Stimulants, such as Adderall and Ritalin.
Misusing these medications can cause serious health consequences for teens’ still-developing bodies and brains. Short- and long-term effects may include:
- Paranoia.
- Irregular heartbeat.
- Dangerously high body temperature.
- Drowsiness or fatigue.
- Nausea.
- Constipation.
- Slowed or shallow breathing.
- Disorientation and lack of coordination.
- Convulsions or seizures.
- Disinhibition and lack of judgment, leading to risky behaviors.
Signs of Misuse
If you or a friend shows these behaviors, it means that prescription drug use is turning into abuse or addiction.
- Incorrectly following instructions and doses for taking the medication; for example, taking more than one dose or crushing pills into powder to snort or inject.
- Mixing medications with other drugs or alcohol.
- Taking someone else’s prescription medicine.
- Going to a number of doctors and pharmacies to get the drugs.
Sharing Prescriptions
“Borrowing” drugs from a friend is extremely dangerous because the drug can act very differently in your brain and body than it does in the person who medically needs it.
For example, one-fourth of teens think that ADHD medication can be used as a study aid. However, if you borrow Ritalin from a friend and you don’t have ADHD, the drug will react differently and could cause rapid or irregular heartbeat, delirium, panic, paranoia and heart failure.
Resources
- Drug Guide, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the Center for Addiction
- NIDA for Teens: Prescription Drugs
Last reviewed: November 2019