Story Photos
 Photo by Roger Werth Sheriff's trainee Cory Robinson helps Bo Storedahl out of a patrol car Wednesday at the Hall of Justice. |
Experts hope others think twice
Thursday, August 9, 2007 7:04 AM PDT
By Stephanie Mathieu
Printable version
E-mail this articleDoctors and substance abuse experts say they hope Wednesday's drug bust will change young people's casual views about prescription medications.
"You give one pill to your friend, you're going to be charged with a crime," said Brian Hoyt, an emergency room doctor at St. John Medical Center. "What I am absolutely tired of are these ho-hum attitudes of our teenagers. People don't even think twice about it."
Recent surveys suggest that today's teens -- raised in a culture that seems to pop a pill for any ailment -- abuse prescription medications because they incorrectly believe they aren't as dangerous as illegal drugs and because they're easier to get --- by duping doctors, stealing from parents or buying or trading them.
"The drugs have become more available," said Hoyt, who spoke to The Daily News about the extent of prescription drug abuse for a June 3 article on the subject. Prescription medications have "just become the common party drug."
Abusing prescription medications can be lethal and also lead to depression, addiction and trouble in school, Hoyt said.
Brian McCrady of the Cowlitz Substance Abuse Coalition said Wednesday's arrests should dispel misconceptions that its easy to get away with trafficking or purchasing prescription medications.
McCrady also said the young ages of many arrested do not surprise him.
"I don't think people realize the danger of these pills because they've never had professional medical advice on how to use them," he said. " You get some young people who say, 'Oh, this is cool, and it's a great high.' ... They don't know what they're doing a lot of times."
Just Monday, a 13-year-old Longview girl was transported to St. John after overdosing on methadone, according to police reports.
Another local teen, Danny Neves, 18, is scheduled for a court appearance Sept. 20 on allegations that he supplied fentanyl painkiller patches to a Kelso High School classmate who later overdosed. Neves is charged with obtaining a controlled substance through fraud, delivering a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school grounds and third-degree assault.
The demand for prescription medications from young people creates a lucrative opportunity for their peers, McCrady said.
"There's money in it," he said. "It's kind of like a business. It's like selling pot or any other drug. It's just that it's a prescription."
In Cowlitz County, students abuse prescription painkillers more than their Washington peers, according to the 2006 Healthy Youth Survey, which is distributed every two years to middle and high school students by the state's Department of Health. More than 3,000 students in the county answered questions about prescription drugs.
In 2006, 4.8 percent of 10th graders in Cowlitz County reported illegally using Ritalin -- a stimulant commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- in the past 30 days, according to the Healthy Youth Survey. That rate was 3.6 percent in 2004.
And 4.8 percent of Cowlitz 12th graders last year illegally used Ritalin in the past 30 days -- nearly double the 2.5 percent of 12th graders who reported using the drug illegally in 2004, according to the survey.
Nationwide studies show that the rate at which teens abuse prescription drugs is increasing while their use of street drugs -- from marijuana to heroin -- is declining.
The availability of prescription medications is a major contributor to their abuse, Hoyt said. Rising abuse is prompting doctors to approach patients with more suspicion, but it's sometimes hard to tell patients who need drugs from those faking ailments to get medication, he added.
"How many people am I going to be gullible to to save somebody who's really in pain?"
Past Month's Most Commented Stories