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Vicodin
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to this Commentary!
By Meena Hartenstein
Students are headed back to class this month, their new backpacks stuffed with
notebooks, cell phones, palm pilots, and for some kids, prescription drugs.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that prescription drug abuse has
dramatically increased among 12 to 25-year-olds. Kids are pill swapping everything
from Ritalin prescribed for attention deficit disorders, to painkillers. It's
a dangerous trend at a time when drugs like OxyContin are now flagged by the
FDA as highly addictive and sometimes deadly. Youth Radio's Meena Hartenstein
says the prescription drug of choice at her school is a narcotic painkiller
called Vicodin.
Script:
At my high school, it is easier to get Vicodin than Children's Tylenol. Getting
the school nurse to help you get rid of a headache requires signing a waiver
and calling your parents. Most teens don't want to bother with that, so they
grab a few painkillers from friends.
Last fall, a friend of mine had to have elbow surgery. He was prescribed a lot
more Vicodin than it turned out he needed. He gave the leftover drugs to his
girlfriend, who suffers from migraines. That's how it starts. Vicodin numbs
you to the pain, and soon that numb feeling is something you want again. At
my small private school, my friends and I are always stressed about grades and
getting into college. We stay up all night doing homework or cramming for tests.
For some kids, the mellow high from Vicodin is the perfect release from all
the stress.
Vicodin is prescribed to every teenager I know who gets his or her wisdom teeth
pulled, so a lot of kids have easy access to it. But some never even use the
pills they get. I have a bottle sitting at home from my dental surgery. I've
never given it away or sold it, but I know people who get as much as 50 bucks
for their bottles of pills. Rich kids with good reputations who wouldn't smoke
pot, take Vicodin because they think it doesn't make them druggies. Vicodin
is different. It's the medication of choice for the kids whose moms take Valium
to relax.
But I worry about the side effects of Vicodin - especially that nasty side effect
called addiction. And people my age know it's addictive because we see it on
TV. We've seen that big stars like Melanie Griffith and Matthew Perry had to
go into rehab for Vicodin addiction. Even on MTV, there's Eminem with a Vicodin
tattoo.
This is not the kind of drug you find in urban settings like the Haight Ashbury
drug clinic in San Francisco. But Vicodin is something school nurses across
the country say they are starting to pay attention to, along with other prescription
drugs. It seems like doctors should wonder where their pills are headed when
they prescribe to teenagers. And if you ask me, parents should also be worrying
about Vicodin. Instead of just keeping an eye on the liquor supplies, they should
also be looking in the medicine cabinet.
For NPR News, I'm Meena Hartenstein.
Host Back Announce: Meena Hartenstein is a commentator for Youth Radio, an award-winning
journalism training program.
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