Teen Drug Abuse
Medical Author: Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Prescription Drug Abuse, an Alarming Trend
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor:
Barbara
K. Hecht, PhD
 According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2006, 16.2 million Americans aged 12 and older had taken a prescription pain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant, or sedative for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. Up to 7 million people, or 2.8% of the U.S. population age 12 or older, had used prescription medications for nonmedical purposes in the month prior to the survey.
Although any type of medication has the potential to be abused, certain
groups of prescription drugs are most commonly abused.
Painkillers: Opioids such as codeine and
morphine are narcotics prescribed to treat pain. Other drugs in this class
include oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), meperidine (Demerol),
hydromorphone (Dilaudid), and propoxyphene (Darvon).
CNS depressants: Drugs in the
benzodiazepine class are central nervous system (CNS) depressants used to treat
anxiety disorders and sometimes for the short-term treatment of insomnia.
Examples include alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and triazolam (Halcion).
Top Searched Teen Drug Abuse Terms
marijuana, teen drug addiction, cocaine, symptoms, crack, causes, treatment, risk factors, signs, alcohol, Sudafed, Benadryl, Oxycontin, Vicodin, anabolic steroids
What drugs are abused by teenagers?
Virtually every drug that is abused by adults is also abused by adolescents.
In addition to alcohol, common categories of drugs of abuse include:
- Tobacco products (for example, cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco)
- Cannabinoids (for example, marijuana, hashish), sometimes called "pot, weed,
Mary Jane, or herb" and is smoked in a "joint," "blunt," "bong," or pipe
- Cold medications (for example,
Sudafed, Benadryl)
- Inhalants (for example, gasoline, ammonia), the use of which is
often referred to as "huffing"
- Depressants (for example, barbiturates,
benzodiazepines), sometimes called "reds, yellows, yellow jackets, downers or roofies"
- Stimulants (for example, amphetamines, cocaine, methamphetamine), sometimes
called "bennies, black beauties, speed, uppers, blow, crack, rock, toot, crank,
crystal, or skippy"
- Narcotics (for example, morphine, heroin, codeine, Oxycontin,
Vicodin), sometimes called cody, schoolboy, Tango and Cash, or monkey"
- Hallucinogens (for example LSD, "mushrooms"), sometimes called "acid, yellow sunshines,
buttons, or shrooms"
- Dissociative anesthetics (for example, phencyclidine/PCP,
ketamine), sometimes called "lovely, boat, Love Boat, angel dust, K, vitamin K, or cat" and
whose use is often referred to as "getting wet"
- Club drugs (for example, Ecstasy),
sometimes called "X"
- Others (for example, anabolic steroids), sometimes called
"juice or roids"
Next: What are some statistics on teenage drug use? »
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What's involved with teen disease prevention?
The teen years are a time of growth that involves experimentation and risk taking. For some teens, the social pressures of trying to fit in can be too much. These years can be even more troubling for teens who are confronted with teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, violence, delinquency, suicide, depression, unintentional injuries and school failure. Parents often walk a tightrope between allowing their teenager to gain some independence and helping them to deal with their feelings during this difficult and challenging time in their lives.
Teenagers recognize that they are developmentally between child and adult. Emerging cognitive abilities and social experiences lead teens to question adult values and experiment with health-risk behaviors. Some behaviors threaten current health, while other behaviors may have long-term health consequences. The changes in cognitive abilities offer an opportunity to help teenagers ...
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