Lock up drugs? Maybe not
JANESVILLE — Lock up your guns!
Lock up your liquor!
Lock up your prescriptions?
Prescription drug abuse isn’t as widespread as marijuana abuse among youths, but officials nationwide are worried.
Why?
Because while use of marijuana and other illicit drugs is declining among youths, prescription drug abuse is not.
Hence the TV ads that debuted during the Super Bowl, in which a drug dealer says you can’t blame him for kids getting high anymore, because kids are getting their drugs free from medicine cabinets.
Filching pills might not be new, but the practice might be spreading.
It’s hard to tell, because surveys haven’t taken a look at the problem until recently.
Recent surveys show declines in kids abusing illicit drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. But they show a small but steady phenomenon of kids popping sedatives, tranquilizers and painkillers.
“Lock up your prescriptions,” advises the Web site of Parents, The Anti-Drug.
But parents don’t need to rush out and buy lock boxes unless they know they have a problem, said Carrie Kulinski, drug-program coordinator for the Janesville School District.
“There are some that lock ’em up, but I think it’s impractical,” agreed Brian Donohoue, community service sergeant for the Janesville Police Department.
Monitor your prescription drugs, Kulinski advised, and don’t ignore those over-the-counter cough syrups that also have seen a surge of interest from kids seeking to get high. If the stuff is disappearing, you might have a problem.
If you suspect your child, get professional help.
“That’s the first thing you do. Don’t go out and lock up your pills,” Kulinski said.
Kulinski recommends a drug/alcohol counselor, who can perform what is called an assessment, to find out if the child has a problem.
If the problem is confirmed, then go shopping for locks and safes, Kulinski said.
The painkiller Vicodin appears to be one of the most popular prescription drugs that kids take. Twelfth-grade use nationwide was at nearly 10 percent in 2007.
The Janesville School District’s biennial survey of drug use hasn’t changed since 1990 and doesn’t ask about popular prescriptions of abuse such as Vicodin, Ritalin, Adderall and Oxycodone.
Kulinski said she’s considering adding questions to the survey, because she’s seen prescription drug abuse locally, but she’s not sure that kids know where to place those drugs among the current categories, such as amphetamines and barbiturates.
The local survey also doesn’t ask about over-the-counter meds such as cold remedies that contain dextromethorphan, a hallucinogen. Kids abusing those drugs have dubbed it “robo-tripping,” after one such remedy, Robitussin cough syrup.
Donohoue said the problem is a local as well as national, but there’s no huge wave of abuse here.
Donohoue recalled an incident at a local high school in which a girl was hiding Vicodin in her bra. She had gotten the pills from her house and was giving them away. Police found out when another student reported it.
Kulinski said parents shouldn’t despair. Research has shown that education can work, and the things parents say and do can make a difference.
“If the kid thinks it’s harmful, they’re not going to use it,” Kulinski said. “But what we’re finding with prescription medications is kids don’t think they’re harmful because they’re prescribed by a doctor.
“So parents need to communicate to their kids that everything is harmful if it’s abused.”
Janesville middle schools provide a drumbeat of anti-drug messages in classes that include Janesville police, but parents should add their voices to reinforce the message, Donohoue said.
“The big thing—huge, huge thing—is talk about it,” Donohoue said. “Talk about it till you’re blue in the face.”
When to talk? The sooner the better, depending on the child’s ability to understand, Donohoue said, “because they’re going to hear about it in school. There are going to be kids talking. There’s going to be temptation.”
One of the biggest problems is raising awareness that the medicine cabinet can be the source of a child’s descent into drug abuse.
Kulinski is writing a grant proposal that she hopes will pay for a campaign to raise awareness among parents and also pediatricians.
SAFEGUARDING YOUR KIDS
Tips for safeguarding your kids from prescription drugs.
Communicate, early and often, the message that even prescription drugs are just as harmful as illicit drugs.
For young kids, keep drugs on high shelves.
Keep track of the number of pills in your bottles. Are they disappearing faster than you take them? Is your cough syrup disappearing?
Check your computer’s Internet history and credit-card bills. Is someone logging onto sites where you can order prescription drugs? Yes, it’s possible to order drugs online without a prescription. All you need is a credit card.
Along the same lines, check packages your child receives in the mail.
If you suspect your child has a drug problem, you need the services of a specialist who can do a drug/alcohol assessment. The Janesville School District keeps a list of drug/alcohol counselors at http://janesville.k12.wi.us/sdj/atoda.html. Click on “ATODA Assessments.”
If you know you’ve got a problem, lock up your drugs. Lock boxes, safes and after-market medicine-cabinet locks are available, although not every lock will work for all cabinets.
Older adults also should be on guard when young relatives come to visit.
Mar 5, 2008 at 1:35 a.m.
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evansville housewife, im curious, why were you looking at a dead girls my space? do you think her family and friends need to contiually be reminded of her death and how it happened. you could at least had the common decency not to use her full name.i think i would feel ashamed for that.
Mar 4, 2008 at 12:43 p.m.
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EvansvilleHousewife:
Oh, so change your lifestyle instead of taking medically necessary medication?
Give me a break.
There are some people, like me, who need certain medications to function. Thank God I was prescribed what I was. I am a fucntioning member of society instead of sitting on my butt draining the system.
Don't lump everyone together here.
Mar 4, 2008 at 11:25 a.m.
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no thats part of their problem for legalization is that they cant test with accuracy. they really have no way of knowing when i get pulled over if i smoke last hour or last week.....
Mar 4, 2008 at 10:52 a.m.
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As someone who does not know a lot about marijuana...is there a way to test the level in your body? I know they test alcohol by BAC, can they do the same with pot? If so, why not set a legal limit and treat it like alcohol? I have never been high, but I have been drunk many (perhaps far too many...) times and I know that there can be terrible outcomes (besides that "I want to die" hangover feeling). Is it the same for marijuana - the high feeling and not really having control or good judgement?
Mar 4, 2008 at 10:22 a.m.
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i stand corrected clyde. there is ONE documented case of marijuana overdose. heres a link on the chic in cali who overdosed on WATER http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=stra...
lets start to uneducate people about water. i sure dont want my kid someday o.d'n on freakin water. plus i think that one documented case of marijuana overdose only helps my hemp cause. since some 20 million americans smoke weed every year. its been smoked for thousands of years for medical and recreational. it sounds more laughable to talk about the hyprocrisy of the marijuana prohibition to say the the anti-pot people, 'you are right, marijuana is dangerous, remember that ONE guy that smoked 23000 joints in 11 years and died, i hope i dont turn out like that....'
Mar 4, 2008 at 6:30 a.m.
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that's real scientific clyde with all the swearing.
Mar 3, 2008 at 6:55 p.m.
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Here is the link of the documented case of cannabis overdose: http://www.8bm.com/diatribes/volume02/01...
Mar 3, 2008 at 11:08 a.m.
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That is because there are NO cases of marijuana overdose (I know people who have tried). Because you can't overdose on marijuana because it is not toxic. Again if your child ate it THEY WOULD NOT DIE!!!! Unlike the vitamins in your medicine cabinet. Do you know how many childrent die every year from that? Probably not.
You actually have cannabinoids that naturally occur in your brain and they of course help you to forget things that aren't important.
Please cite your statistics or provide actual examples not pretend ones.
Mar 3, 2008 at 10:51 a.m.
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hey clyde. thats wasnt a link to one documented case. that was a link to a report about a study. you saw in that australian study that it said 'Australian figures separating cannabis-related deaths where cannabis was the only drug involved are not readily available'. so you cant count that. as for the united states study where '187 involved cannabis only', does it say how they died?? no.just that cannabis was the only drug in their system when they were tested. again, find me ONE LINK to where someone died from the direct use of marijuana. give me 10 seconds and ill find you a 1,000 links to people dieing from the direct use of alcohol or prescription pills.
Mar 3, 2008 at 9:42 a.m.
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maybe they should stop prescribin drugs then if people wanna complain N weed should just b legalized in my opinion alchohol kills much more then weed but its still legal what does weed do other than supposably hurtin your body??
Mar 3, 2008 at 8:52 a.m.
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Here's your link, the kid:
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/health/c...
Mar 2, 2008 at 9:11 p.m.
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clyde id love to see a link to ONE of those documented cases.
Mar 2, 2008 at 9:08 p.m.
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evansvillehousewife. bravo on the first blog. bravo. as to the second. im not advocating use by a 16 year old. her myspace lists 'party, smoke, and drink'. she was drinking ALCOHOL before her accident. assuming she was smoking too, you obviously HAVE to hold alcohol AT LEAST, IF NOT MORE accountable than the smoke. what i advocate is the fact that i as a 30 year old tax paying citizen, who follows ALL the rules of society in ALL apects(other than the ridiculous marijuana prohibitions) should absolutey 150% without a doubt have the option to smoke marijauna if you have the option to drink a beer. period.
Mar 2, 2008 at 6:33 p.m.
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There are documented cases of death by cannabis. Sorry. And then of course, many deaths cannabis was part of the "cocktail" to death. There are too many adults abusing alcohol. People live stressful lives but taking substances is not the answer to deal with it, living a balanced lifestyle is.
Mar 2, 2008 at 6:07 p.m.
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If you pro-marijuana advocated would take the time to pook up the myspace page of Kelsie Kingslien, the girl who died in an accident in Janesville last month, you'll see her job was "smoking green"
Respectfully, I see the issue of where marijuana is less harmful that heroin or meth, but the real issue is that as humans we should be cognizan of why we need chemicals to to function, at all.
Mar 2, 2008 at 6:04 p.m.
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Geez, why is anyone surprised? There were over 5000 prescriptions for Prozac for children under 12 months in 2006. Five thousand babies prescribed prozac.
Active children that can't act like everyone else in the classroom are given prescription drugs.
Children that react in perfectly understandable ways when they are abused, neglected, or emotionally torn are given sedatives.
Overworked people, living lives in cubicles, working jobs they are in danger of losing to pay debt for electronic things and gas and SUVs take antidepressants rather then change their lifestyles.
We've got our kids on drugs from their childhoods, and then expect them to "just say no?" We think SUVS and big houses and careers are what makes us happy, and when it doesn't, we turn to alcohol and affairs?
How can we expect our kids to handle their emotions without drugs when adults can't?
Mar 2, 2008 at 11:23 a.m.
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Maybe if Heath Ledger had kept smoking marijuana he would still be alive today. The cop says its impractical to lock up medicines that can kill your child. The drug specialist makes a statement based on no evidence. That is what would be technically called "stupid". The Gazette should be charged with journalism fraud.
Mar 2, 2008 at 10:56 a.m.
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1)if 'education works' then why the F arent we educating about the truths of marijuana?? i do not advocate marijuana or any drug use by minors, but used by responsible adults it WOULD NOT DO THE DAMAGE ALCOHOL CURRENTLY DOES ON SOCIETY. and 2) if they think theres not a prob with prescription drugs locally, ill just say naive;), janesville has the same kids as milwuakee as new york as seattle and how would you know if theres a problem if yer usin the same questions as you did in 1990??
Mar 2, 2008 at 10:44 a.m.
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NO one has ever died from smoking pot ! prescription drugs kill everyday ! wake up people!
Mar 2, 2008 at 10:10 a.m.
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Good article in Sundays paper, the choice of advertising to include a free sample of 2 advil PM pills may not be so good.........
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