Prescription drug deaths

I was listening to NPR when a prescription drug abuse story caught my attention. The announcer was describing a "skittles" party where teenagers throw a bunch of prescription drugs in a bowl and take a handful of them. That is really scary! I kept thinking, I need to warn my oldest son about that at some point. It's no surprise, some of those kids take a bad combination or too much of a certain prescription and they die. The increase use of prescription drugs used to get high is an alarming new trend parents should not ignore.

Here's more on this topic from NPR.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Teens abusing prescription drugs

CNN: The Partnership for a Drug Free America reports one in five teenagers abuse prescription medications to get high. There's a new prevention program seeking to change those statistics.

Oklahoma dad Gary Neal is on a mission. He's trying to help stop teenagers from abusing prescription drugs. "They're taking it out of people's drug cabinets. They're not taking bottles. They're taking 2 or 3 pills and trading it with their friends." That's what Gary thinks happened to his son in 2006.

He says a combination of someone else's prescription painkillers and cold medication proved deadly for the 17-year-old. Intentionally abusing prescription drugs is not safer. In fact can be every bit as dangerous as legal street drugs.

Gary has teamed up with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, to promote "Not in My House". This is unlike any drug issue we've ever dealt with in that supply can be controlled in our own homes. The group says keep an inventory of the drugs you have in the house, store drugs in a safe, secure place, throw away old prescriptions and talk to your teen. Something Gary wishes he could do today. "I've lamented his death every second since he died and will live with it the rest of my life."

I don't know anyone who abused prescription drugs in high school. This story makes me so worried about what my kids will be into when they're in high school. Hopefully nothing this dangerous!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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