Illicit Drug Use Down Teens Turn To Prescriptions WCBSTV New York

The latest youth trend is quite a disturbing one according to a new report Teens increasingly putting down the marijuana and other illicit drugs and replacing them with prescription drugs to get their high. Knowledge of what the drugs are used for and how to use them for recreational purposes is becoming commonplace across the nation despite the President s aggressive campaign on the teenage war on drugs. President Bush sited a new study revealing a decrease in illegal drug use among teens but more striking are the findings suggesting a dramatic increase in the use of prescription drugs. We of course don t see the improvement we only see the problem and we see a lot of the problem said Doctor David Deitch of the Phoenix House Foundation. According to Deitch part B of the equation needs to take center stage. Teenagers he says are switching to prescriptions as a result of accessibility and convenience a natural effect of a national epidemic that is still widely discreet. The youth of America on the receiving end of an endless source of information is exposed to the often aggressive advertisement campaigns of pharmaceutical companies all jostling for control of one of the world s most lucrative industries. Some doctors believe the issue comes from these companies advertising the many wonderful benefits of their drugs and providing the youth with ample ways to address their needs for their drugs to the prescription writing physicians. CBS hit the streets to find out just how much teenagers know about misusing prescription drugs. According to an unidentified New York City student everything from Ritalin Xanax and Vicodin passes from hand to hand. They get painkillers prescribed to treat illnesses and refill them over and over again and pass them out to friends said Holly Nelson a high school student in New York. Since they probably can t find ways to get drugs they probably find real drugs that they can buy so that they can get high said Brian Pasian of New York. According to the Phoenix House the younger the child gets hooked the harder it is to break the cycle leading them eventually to harder drugs. The treatment center also believes teen rehab resources are under funded by the local state and federal government. WCBSTV.com s Most Popular Pages Slideshow World s Most Bizarre Deaths Slideshow Greatest Movies Of All Time Slideshow The Coolest Fighter Jets Ever Slideshow Lindsay Lohan Grows Up Or Does She Slideshow Celebrity Sex Tapes Revealed MMVII CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. From Our Partners Video You need the latest Flash player to view video content. Click here to download. Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player. CBS Close Local News New York Sets New Fuel Efficiency Rating For Taxis Illicit Drug Use Down Teens Turn To Prescriptions ASPCA Rolls Out One Of A Kind Animal CSI Unit Westchester Elderly Can Cut Tax Bills By Working Race Hangs Over Cicciaro Shooting Trial On L.I. Top News Stories Students Shot After Exiting Vegas School Bus Rider Student Alleges Gang Rape By N.J. Troopers New York Sets New Fuel Efficiency Rating For Taxis PETA Skins Olsen Twins In New Web Site Launch Al Qaeda Takes Credit For Algerian Attacks Advertisement MMVII CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved