Nearly one in five teens report abusing prescription drugs to get high, with the majority of drugs obtained through one doctor, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Teens most commonly abuse pain relievers such as OxyContin and Vicodin, stimulants such as Ritalin and Aderall and sedatives or tranquilizers such as Valium and Xanax.
ADHD patients taking prescription stimulants need to be prepared to deal with other students who may ask for their drugs as a study aid, SAMHSA said.
Prescription drugs, when used correctly and under a doctor’s supervision, are safe and effective.
Abusing prescription drugs, even if a doctor prescribes them, is not safer than abusing illegal drugs and is always harmful.
“If people are abusing prescription meds, they need help,” Jeri Zimmermann, board certified licensed professional counselor and certified addictions counselor with Southeast Colorado for Drug Free Communities said.
There are patients who need prescription drugs to manage pain and there is a difference between dependence and addiction, she said.
Utilizing pharmaceuticals to enhance a person’s life and manage pain is beneficial, however continued abuse will ultimately lead to addiction.
When someone abuses those drugs and starts taking more and more, leading to addiction, it disrupts their life, beginning with their relationships, Zimmermann said.
For instance, if someone is abusing prescription medication and their significant other comments on the fact, the person might stop spending time with them so they won’t have to face the reality of their addiction.
Opioid addiction is serious and recovery is a life challenge, she said.
One patient who abused opiates from age 16 to 25 finally sought help after the medication affected him so that he could no longer function, Zimmermann said.
“He couldn’t do anything. He just couldn’t do anything,” she said.
There is a difference between shopping for a good doctor and “doctor shopping,” Zimmermann said.
Shopping for a good doctor is something everyone should do to make sure they feel comfortable with that person.
“Doctor shopping” is when a patient who is addicted to pain killers or some other form of medication goes to different doctors to get more of the medication than is actually needed.
“Doctor shopping” is a problem in Las Animas and Bent County.
“Oh, yeah. Most definitely,” Kimberly Montejano, RN with Valley Wide Health Services said.
Valley Wide has patients who are on chronic pain medication sign a pain management contract saying that they will not seek medication through another physician, she said.
The contract states that they will also only go to one pharmacy.
Sadly, some patients seen at clinics throughout the Valley obtain prescription pain medication, and then sell it on the street, Montejano said.
OxyContin is one popular drug, Las Animas Police Chief Donald Trujillo said.
Patients have been known to go to Lamar, then La Junta, then Rocky Ford, visiting different doctors to get medication, he said.
As much as Valley Wide and other physician practices want to trust patients, a red flag for doctors is when patients visit and ask for a specific medication, Montejano said.
It is not so easy for people to “doctor shop” any longer, however.
As of November 2008, Colorado joined 31 other states in operating a drug prescription-monitoring program.
The monitoring program covers schedule II-IV drugs and data began being collected in July 2007.
Now Colorado physicians and pharmacies have this tool at hand to prevent “doctor shopping.”
Schedule II drugs have a high potential for abuse and abuse of the drug may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
Some schedule II drugs are Fentanyl, Methadone, Morphine, Opium, Oxycodone and Oxymorphone.
Schedule III drugs include Ketamine and Pentobarbital and Schedule IV drugs include Darvon, Valium and Xanax.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Diversion Control, “Every prescription drug monitoring program provides safeguards to protect patient confidentiality. Only those individuals who are authorized by statute or regulation can access the controlled substance prescription information,”
Prescription drug monitoring programs are being used to deter and identify illegal activity such as prescription forgery, indiscriminate prescribing and “doctor shopping.”
Valley Wide is now able to communicate through the internet with other doctor’s offices to see if a patient has been seen and received medication from someone else.
“Unfortunately, we will find people,” Montejano said.
It is a felony to “doctor shop” and is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The forgery of prescriptions or the sale or transfer of the drug to others is also illegal.
“We do see opiate addiction as a problem,” Zimmermann said.
Addiction can become a problem for anyone, she said.
Zimmermann said she has heard of people who come to someone’s door and ask to use their bathroom, and then go through their medicine cabinet to find drugs.
“This is a problem that needs to be addressed by the community to change the expectations and social norms of our community,” she said.
There is help for people who are addicted, Zimmermann said.
Parkview Chemical Dependency Center has a program that focuses on opiate and drug addiction and Zimmermann is a licensed professional counselor and certified addictions counselor.
