What are Pharm Parties? New indications are pointing to a disturbing trend in which teens steal prescription drugs from their parents' medicine cabinets and create "prescription cocktails" that can be shared or traded with friends at parties, leading to drug addiction or abuse.
Prescription medications such as Xanax®, OxyContin®, and Ambien® are some of the popular name brand pills that teenagers look for when raiding their household medicine cabinets. These medications are more popular than street drugs due to their easy accessibility and their affordability. The price for a pill of the most commonly abused pharmaceutical drugs ranges from three to six dollars, with prices getting cheaper in bulk, although OxyContin and other stronger drugs can cost more.
According to a 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 47 percent of teens who abuse prescription drugs got them from a relative or friend, and 10 percent said they took the drugs without asking. A study conducted that same year by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that 62 percent of teenagers say prescription pain relievers are easy to get from parents' medicine cabinets and 50 percent say they're easy to get through other people's prescriptions. The ease of getting these drugs contribute to the ease of drug addiction and abuse.
Teens end up taking and mixing pills that may have adverse effects when combined or if they overdose.
Since prescription medications can be prescribed for a number of reasons and aren't always taken on a regular basis, it can be easy for a teenager to take one or two pills from each medicine bottle without anyone noticing. If a household has sleeping prescriptions and cough medicines that are only used every few months, it's simple to not notice that extra pills have gone missing.
Mixing prescriptions together can lead to drug abuse and addiction, though, so it's important to keep track of all of the medicines located within your home.
On top of looking out for any unusual behaviors, parents should also keep prescription medicines in an attended area where quantities can be monitored. If you aren't using a certain prescription anymore, dispose of it immediately.
Talking to your doctor or pharmacist about the potential dangers of taking the prescription drugs can help parents communicate the dangers to their teens as well, and help prevent their behavior.
Visit the Rapid Drug Detox Center site for more information on drug addiction treatment.
