Experts say 20 percent of teens reported abusing prescription medication

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is spearheading a program to help parents keep addictive prescription drugs out of the hands of teens.

Operation Take-Back is the DEA’s new bid to stop the use of drugs like Oxycotin, Vicodin, and Xanax, among teens by setting up 4,000 drop-off locations nationwide for parents to unload any unused prescriptions, ABC News reports.

Approximately 62 percent of teens get prescription medications for non-medical use from family and friend's homes and medicine cabinets. Every day, an estimated 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time, according to one DEA agent. Prescription drugs are very attractive to teens because they are easy to get, one expert told the news source.

According to Drugfree.org, almost 20 percent of teens reported abusing prescription medications. However, programs for troubled youth can help educate teens on the negative effects of these drugs can have on their bodies as well as their family life, while teen boarding schools can assist parents who have difficulty teaching their child the harmful effects of drug use.


Mental health problems such as depression, development lags, and apathy are frequently linked to substance abuse among adolescents, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.