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Prescription Drugs and Teens
Listen to this commentary!
By Meena Hartenstein
Many teenagers can easily list a series of stars and musicians who've been addicted
to the prescription drug Vicodin…. These days, some can also give you a
list of their friends abusing Vicodin, a narcotic for moderate to severe pain.
Youth Radio's Meena Hartenstein offers this perspective.
At my high school, it is easier to get Vicodin than Children's Tylenol. If you
find yourself in class with a headache, it's impossible to get the school nurse
to give you anything to cure it. Getting a couple Tylenol tablets requires signing
a waiver and calling your parents. Most teens don't have time for all that.
They have to get to class, and besides, their parents are busy at work. This
doesn't mean they'll be stuck with a migraine all day. If you don't have headache
medicine yourself, it's easy to find someone who has a bottle of Aspirin in
their backpack.
When my mom first heard about kids trading medicine at school, she freaked out.
I thought she was being ridiculous - what's so bad about getting rid of a headache
once in a while? But I'm starting to see her point, as I see my classmates trade
stronger and stronger drugs. The name on everyone's lips these days is Vicodin.
Last fall, a friend of mine was hurt in an accident and had to have surgery
on his elbow. He was prescribed enough Vicodin to last for several months, although
he only used the pills for a few weeks. He gave the leftover drugs to his girlfriend,
who suffers from chronic migraines. It turns out a lot of high school kids are
taking Vicodin for head ache medicine. But the long list of side effects makes
me worry about my classmates - especially that nasty side effect called Addiction.
Vicodin is prescribed to practically every teenager who gets their wisdom teeth
pulled, so a lot of kids have easy access to the drug. I have a bottle sitting
at home from my dental surgery. But don't get me wrong - I'm no addict. I'm
not a dealer either. But one of my friends, who had knee surgery recently, is
thinking about selling his pills to another friend who takes Vicodin for kicks.
If parents are concerned about underage drinking, they may want to take notice
of this pill swapping trend. Not only are these drugs addictive, but combined
with alcohol, they can be fatal.
With a perspective, I'm Meena Hartenstein.
Host Back Announce: Meena Hartenstein will be a senior at the Head Royce School.
She is a commentator for Youth Radio, an award-winning journalism training program
in Berkeley.
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