Medicine Jar

One of Paul McCartney's many songs about drug use included this bottom line: "Dead on your feet, you won't get far, if you keep on sticking your hand in the medicine jar."

So just what's in that medicine jar in your bathroom cabinet? You may not be the only one who knows.

Dear Mr. Moyers: This correspondence comes your way via a heavy heart. Our youngest daughter is in a coma in the hospital. The doctors say she will survive, though uncertainty remains about the extent of the long-term neurological damage she will have from the drug overdose that nearly killed her three weeks ago. It was not a drug overdose in a seedy city building or a liquor store; it was at a good friend's house, down the block from where we live in the burbs. She took alprazolam (Xanax), which her friend's mother was taking legally for stress or anxiety. It happened after school on a whim or a dare. Her friend said their intent wasn't to get high; it was just something they found in the bathroom when they were rummaging around the house like 13-year-olds will do when they are on the lookout for "fun." Please use our story to help us warn other parents that sometimes the most dangerous drugs are those right at home.
-- Roger P., Weatherford, Texas

This month, the federal government teamed up with private partners to launch a national awareness campaign to focus attention on the dangers of prescription drug use by youths. Even though their use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs has declined in the past six years, many teens have turned to misusing prescription drugs, according to the government's most recent national survey. In fact, prescription drugs are misused more by this age group than any illicit drug except marijuana. The nonmedical use of these medicines -- the very same drugs used legitimately to relieve pain and treat anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and ADHD by some people -- is a growing and under-recognized problem that puts young lives at risk.

What happened to Roger's daughter is not unusual. Experts note that unlike other forms of adolescent drug use, the desire to feel good or get high ranks much lower as a motivation for prescription drug misuse. Instead, say these experts, adolescents are turning to prescription drugs not only for recreational use but also to help manage their daily lives. The reasons include to lower stress and anxiety, boost their moods, stay up all night studying for exams, and enhance academic or athletic performance. Sadly, dealing with and managing school-related pressures and stress is cited as the No. 1 reason teens use prescription drugs. So much for those carefree teenage years.

The campaign "Maximizing Your Role as a Teen Influencer: What You Can Do to Help Prevent Teen Prescription Drug Abuse" focuses on how to recognize teens under the influence of these medications and the role of parents and teachers in dealing with the problem. It also emphasizes the importance of paying attention to what adults keep around the house and offers three easy steps to reduce the risk: Avoid stockpiling medications; keep them in a safe place; and promptly and properly dispose of prescriptions, even if the expiration dates are down the road.

By the way, "Medicine Jar" was written by McCartney as an anti-drug song but sung by Jimmy McCulloch, one of McCartney's band mates in his post-Beatles years. McCulloch died of a drug overdose three years later.

November 14, 2009

Copyright Creators Syndicate, Inc. For the benefit of alcoholics, addicts and those who care about them, please encourage your local paper to run "Beyond Addiction" by William C. Moyers. Available through Creators Syndicate.