Town hall meeting to discuss prescription abuse

The drugs most commonly used by teenagers in St. Joseph County can often be found in their parents medicine cabinets. In one recent survey, 14 percent of high school seniors in St. Joseph County reported using a prescription drug that had been prescribed to someone else. The problem, said St. Joseph County police department spokesman Sgt. Bill Redman, is that many teens think these types of drugs are safe because they are prescribed by a doctor. But the drugs, when taken by the wrong person, can lead to fatal consequences. At 7 p.m. Thursday at Ivy Tech Community College, the Drug Free Community Council of St. Joseph County will host a town hall discussion about teenagers and prescription drug abuse. Jeremy Linton, an IUSB professor and expert in substance abuse prevention, will be the night’s keynote speaker and will share information about what drugs teens are abusing and the effects of drug use. Redman also will speak to parents about how to identify drug use in teens. "The misconception is that teens think abusing prescription drugs is safer than taking more traditional drugs like marijuana or meth," Redman said. Prescription drug abuse can lead to dependence, can cause seizures and rapid heart rates, and is the second leading cause of death among teenagers, Redman said. Prescription drugs typically abused by teenagers include Vicodin, oxycodone, Adderall and Ritalin. Redman said some over-the-counter-medications, like cough syrup, also are abused by teens. Because those drugs, as well as many others, are readily available in many home medicine cabinets, Redman said they often are easily accessible to teens. Teens who are prescribed medications can also, at the urging of friends, become dealers, passing out medications to their friends, Redman said. "Parents need to be aware of what medications are in the home and keep a total count of the pills," Redman said. "If things start missing, that can indicate a problem." Because prescription drug abuse is widespread and often hard to detect, Redman said, parents wanting to learn more should attend the town hall meeting to hear what the experts have to say as well as to ask questions. "It’s something parents need to talk about with their teens," Redman said. "It’s more common than most people realize." Staff writer Dave Stephens: dstephens@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6209