AHS Views

Do you remember Skittles? I don’t know if they still make them - little candies that look a bit like M & Ms, no chococate, just fruit flavored chewy candies. Well, if you hear your kid talking about skittles, they’re probably not talking about candy - they’re talking about prescription drugs. And there’s a good chance that, in the future, they’ll be talking about getting addiction help.

Read the story about two Kentucky teenagers, 16 and 17 years old, who started using drugs when they were just turned 13.  They began with alcohol, moved to over-the-counter drugs, and then to the prescription drugs they found in their own medicine cabinet. They eventually settled on OxyContin as their drug of choice and both are currently getting the prescription drug addiction help they need through drug rehab.

Most of the kids who do this think the drugs are safe - they’re in their own family medicine cabinet. Either their parents or other family members are taking them, or have them left over from when they had an operation or illness.

The partnership for a drug free America nationwide says one in five teenagers say they abuse prescription pills to get high.

In Kentucky, one in ten teens say they pop pills to get high.

Indiana is the 5th highest state for people 12 and older abusing prescription drugs.

“Open your medicine cabinet and look inside and there’s probably something somebody can use… especially combined with alcohol or some other kind of substance that they can use to get high,” says Van Ingram, KY Office of Drug Policy Control.

Do your kids a favor - get rid of the drugs before you need to help them find addiction help services.