One California county begins prescription medication take back program to curb teen drug abuse

Prescription drug use among teens is a growing trend, Prescription pills now rank second behind marijuana in terms of most used drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, many school districts as well as local and state governments are targeting these medication as part of an overall effort to prevent adolescents from abusing them.

For example, The county recently created and implemented a prescription drug disposal program, which has collected more than 2,700 pounds of unused medication.

Law enforcement in Ventura County, California recently announced that they have seen a significant increase in the number of young people in the area overdosing on prescription medication, Ventura County Star reports.

Ventura County law enforcement officials told the news source that many of these prescription drugs came from medicine cabinets inside their own homes. Furthermore, many adults tend to forget to either secure or properly dispose of these medication to keep them out of the hands of children and teens.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 6.2 percent of high school senior abused prescription tranquilizers in 2008.