According to the Indiana Youth Institute, prescription drug abuse is growing among Indiana teenagers. The organization says the number of high school seniors who admitted to having abused prescription drugs nearly doubled in 2014 to 13.5 percent, up from 6.9 percent in 2013. The report also states teens as young as 13 are abusing prescription drugs.

Kids say it is sometimes easier to access drugs such as Xanax, Vicodin and Adderall than it is to get alcohol, because prescriptions are just sitting in medicine cabinets at home. Teens are also learning which drugs their friends or friends’ parents are taking and trading or selling them to each other. The drugs are generally prescribed for legitimate reasons, but being taken by kids to get high.

“Make sure you’re keeping tabs on them, the number of them, when your children’s prescriptions or your prescriptions should run out and be ready for a refill,” said Glenn Augustine with Indiana Youth Institute. “If you suddenly find your child coming to (you) repeatedly and saying, ‘Hey I lost some of my pills’ or ‘I need a refill’ that may be a sign that your children are abusing those drugs.”

Augustine stated that teens are experimenting with taking higher doses of drugs because they like the way they feel after normal dosages. Sometimes they will keep using the drugs when not needed, which is how addiction begins.

Parents should watch for warning signs of substance abuse, including a change in appearance and friends and sluggish, not normal behavior.

“What we know is that the human brain doesn’t fully form until you’re 25 years old. The more you use drugs or alcohol earlier in life, the more likely this is to become a chronic usage or a chronic problem,” said Augustine.

Source: WISH TV