Counselors say drug dependency starts in teen years

Several studies in the last decade have reported that teenagers who abuse drugs are increasingly choosing prescription medications in that abuse.

Prescription drugs are relatively easy to get, less hidden and available in school. With naivete and ignorance, teens are mixing and matching medications together, and with over-the-counter and street drugs — to get high, to get by, and to make money. In this feature, local drug counselors weigh in on what they see in Borderland as they work with local people who seek to overcome chemical dependency.

Lisa Wrabek is the director at Pineview Recovery, a 10-bed adult dependency rehabilitation facility in Littlefork. While the predominant addiction of adult patients who are counseled at Pineview is with alcohol or marijuana, Wrabek said that a problem with synthetic opiates has been on the rise for some time.

Wrabek told The Daily Journal that all the patients with whom she interacts have addictions that started in the teenage years. She has a strong opinion that teenagers should not be given synthetic opiates. “OxyContin, hydrocodone, and other indiscriminate drugs are (sometimes) started for pain management where ibuprofen might work,” she explained.

“Medical practitioners need to be more conservative about prescribing synthetic opiates. There are other pain killers out there that aren’t as addicting,” Wrabek said. But she added that for some people, even less-notable drugs have been known to cause withdrawal symptoms and addiction. Wrabek noted that dentists are also responsible for prescribing synthetic opiates to teens.

Wrabek said she has concerns about the overall amount of drug prescribing. “Overuse of prescription drugs appears to be a much worse issue in general,” she said. “It’s a very key issue, an issue nationwide.

“Drugs like the benzodiazepines for anxiety: Ativan, Klonopin, Valium and Xanax — a good percentage of these were given (to those addicted) before adulthood,” Wrabek went on. They’re also (coming) from parents, or (teens) taking it from homes. There is a street value.”

Wrabek noted that a current petition online seeks to eradicate OxyContin completely — “because it is so addictive.”

Ultimately, Wrabek believes that parents need to take responsibility for monitoring the actions of their children.

“What they (parents) do is much more powerful than what they talk about,” she stressed. “Leaving medications anywhere their children or teens can access them must be eradicated. Kids will seek highs.

“Recently, we’ve heard about very young children actually getting drunk off hand sanitizers. Kids have been known to fill up cups full of foam hand-cleaner and are ingesting it.

“We, as a society, must help kids feel good about themselves, give them meaningful work, help them organize sober activities and fund projects that are known to succeed.” Wrabek cited Bemidji’s Boys & Girls Club as an example.

She also noted that the new group SAFE1825, organized for people age 18 through 25, is “definitely helping young adults stay clean and sober through activities and having fun together.”

Sue Christianson of Rational Alternatives, a guidance agency located at Backus Community Center, said the agency is currently forming a support effort that targets adolescents and drug usage.

“I believe there is an increasing problem with prescription meds, and the accessibility to them,” said Christianson, self-described as “a recovered addict since 1978.”

She said she recently learned from a parent that a teen was getting prescription drugs online with the parent’s credit card.

“It’s come to our attention on several occasions that doctors are not addressing that the person in front of them could be dealing with addiction,” Christianson said. “And there’s a lot of doctor shopping going on.”

Christianson echoes Wrabek’s comments that rarely does anyone come for rehabilitation whose drug abuse started late in life. “Most started around the age of 15,” she said. She stated that marijuana is the most common addiction for teens. “One of the most dangerous ‘harmless’ drugs out there,” she added.

And in unison with others who deal with the issue daily, Christianson addressed the parents of adolescents who are vulnerable. “Don’t take this lightly. This is a serious issue.” It’s easy to deny, she cautions: “They’re just kids, they’ll grow out of it.

“And some parents are providers. If you give your kids one of your pain meds because he’s got a headache — you could be starting something.”

Christianson said the hardest task at Rational Alternatives is getting kids there. Once appointments are made, the agency offers them a choice of solutions. “It doesn’t have to be the way it is,” she said. “They can find a way to deal with issues without turning to chemicals.”

Rational Alternatives can be reached at 285-7029.

Both Wrabek and Christianson expressed that parents and grandparents need to take control of medications that are prescribed for their teenagers, and lock up or properly dispose any other prescriptions that are now sitting on household shelves. These actions will help control the opportunities and the temptations.

Proper disposal of prescription drugs federal guidelines *

1. Take your prescription drugs out of their original containers.

2. Mix drugs with an undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds.

3. Put the mixture into a disposable container with a lid, such as an empty margarine tub, or a sealable bag.

4. Conceal or remove any personal information, including Rx number, on the empty containers, with black permanent marker or duct tape, or by scratching it off.

5. Place the sealed container with the mixture, and the empty drug containers, in the trash.

NOTE: The flushing of some drugs best minimizes accidental risks to family and pets.**

*Office of National Drug Control Policy: October 2009 Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs

**Do not indiscriminately flush prescription drugs down the toilet or drain. For a complete list of drugs that should be flushed, visit the Federal Drug Administration’s Web site at www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely.

Does flushing of select drugs down the toilet or sink drain pose a risk to human health and the environment? The FDA’s stance is that the risk of flushing some medicines is outweighed by the real possibility of life-threatening risks from accidental ingestion of those drugs.

The FDA reports that the majority of medicines found in the water system are a result of the body’s natural routes of drug elimination (in urine or feces). No evidence has been found of harmful effects to human health from medicines in the environment.

NOTE: Demerol, Diazepam, Morphine, Dilaudid, Methadone, OxyContin, Oxycodone and Percocet are some of the drugs on the flushable list. The FDA continually evaluates the list of flushable medicines for safety risks.