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.