Safe Homes Newsletter, August 20, 2008

National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month

For the second year, the U.S. Congress has designated the month of August as "National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month" to encourage parents to educate themselves and to talk to their teens about the dangers of medicine abuse.

For the last 18 months, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has been promoting this same message through the Campaign's prescription drug abuse initiative. Our efforts are paying off; from November 2007 to May 2008...

  • Parents' perception of the prevalence of teen prescription drug abuse has grown significantly - nearly nine out of 10 believe "a lot or some kids abuse"
  • The percentage of parents who believe teen prescription drug abuse prevalence was low or non-existent has dropped in half from 20% to only 10%
Parental awareness is critically important because for the first time ever, studies show that there are just as many new abusers (ages 12 and older) of prescription drugs as there are of marijuana.

The Campaign's main call to action for parents is to cut off the supply of prescription drugs immediately, by taking the following five steps:
  • Safeguard all drugs at home. Monitor quantities and control access
  • Set clear rules for teens about all drug use, including not sharing medicine and always following the medical provider's advice and dosages
  • Be a good role model by following the same rules with your own medicines
  • Properly conceal and dispose of old or unused medicines in the trash
  • Ask friends and family to safeguard their prescription drugs as well
Here are three additional resources for you from the website www.theantidrug.com:

Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse 101 - Links to signs, symptoms, drug descriptions, reasons why teens use, and other informative resources.

Preventing prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse - An easy-to-print and distribute PDF for parents on preventing prescription and over-the-counter abuse among teens.

Video: teens speak about their experiences with prescription drug abuse - A video featuring four teens who describe their problems with prescription drug abuse.

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