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THE ISSUE: THE NEW DRUG ABUSE

The Arizona Republic - February 2008

D.A.R.E. National Parent Alert.

The death of actor Heath Ledger was a tragic example of the danger of prescription-drug abuse. The threat to young people is especially disturbing. In a 2006 survey, one out of five Arizona 12th-graders had used prescription drugs to get high. At the eighth-grade level, an alarming one in 10 had done so, according to the Arizona chapter of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

Parents often have the same notion as many kids: Something out of the medicine cabinet couldn't be as risky as street drugs, could it? Ledger's grieving family has the answer.

The medical examiner announced last week that the 28-year-old actor, who was in the early stages of a promising career already crowned with an Oscar nomination, died Jan. 22 from a deadly mix of six tranquilizers, sleeping pills and painkillers.

The sort of drug cocktail a kid could take to get high. It's the dark spot in a picture that's actually getting brighter: Overall use of illicit drugs by U.S. teens has dropped significantly in recent years. Now "legal" drugs are our big worry.

More teens 12-17 abuse prescription drugs than cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines combined.  A lot are also getting a buzz from over-the-counter medicine, like cough syrup.

The scope of the problem has led to a depressing new term for today's youth: Generation Rx.

Dr. Steven Curry, director of medical toxicology at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, has seen kids die from taking morphine or methadone prescribed for their parents or relatives. Teens make life-threatening mistakes as they rummage through pill bottles. For example, Curry explains, "They think they're taking a parent's pain medication, and take an anti-convulsant and go unconscious."

Arizona has an extra challenge because many medications that require a prescription in the United States are available over the counter in Mexico. Kids are crossing the border to stock up, Curry says. Teens get together and share the goodies, without much concern for what they're taking. If they add alcohol, the danger level jumps even higher. "We've admitted kids from 'pharming' parties,"

The heavy promotion of prescription drugs is contributing to an atmosphere that encourages abuse. Parents have a challenging job in trying to discourage substance abuse. The basic strategy is to talk to their children, beginning the conversation early, and to be aware of warning signs in a kid's appearance and behavior.

For prescription drugs, there's more. The steps include monitoring quantities of drugs at home. Disposing of old or unused medicine. Setting clear rules for taking medications.

Ledger didn't take an excessive quantity of any single drug. But the combination shut down his body functions. His father, Kim Ledger, said in a statement: "Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."

One expert said that mixing a half dozen prescription drugs that way is like playing Russian roulette. With a bullet in every chamber.

Teen drug abuse by the numbers

* 2,500 - Youth, 12 to 17 years old, who daily try prescription painkillers for the first time to get high.

* 2.1 million - Teens who abused prescription drugs in 2006.

* 13 - Mean age at which a teen begins abusing sedatives and stimulants.

* 40 percent - Share of teens who think prescription drugs are safer than "street drugs."

* 70 percent - Share of teen abusers who say they got pain relievers from friends or relatives.

For more information: www.drugfree.org/AZ.

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