Teens Turn to Friends, Family to Get Prescription Drugs

Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that teens engaging in prescription drug abuse are most likely to turn to friends and family to get illicit substances. According to the report, roughly half of all teens misusing prescription drugs such as stimulants, tranquilizers and sedatives said they most recently obtained medicine from friends or a family member for free.

The data also showed that teens who obtained drugs from friends and families were significantly more likely to have a concurrent drug or alcohol addiction and have ten or more “misuse” episodes than teens who obtained prescription drugs in other ways.  The authors of the report said that “these results may help identify subgroups of adolescent prescription misusers who are most vulnerable to consequences from misuse or other substance use.”

Recent results from the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s “Monitoring the Future” report showed a continuing high level of prescription drug misuse among teens. Addiction treatment programs are seeing more teens who are attempting to quit using stimulants such as Adderall than ever before.