New drugs of choice

[Tom]

By ADAM NICHOLS

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

 

They're Generation Rx.

Today's teenagers are more likely to pop prescription pills to get high than snort cocaine or drop acid, experts say.

 

A survey of 7,300 American teens shows the nation has had success in tackling illegal drug use. But it also reveals a new trend of kids raiding their parents' medicine cabinets for chemical kicks.

 

"It's a new category of substance abuse that we see emerging, and it is frighteningly large," said Thomas Hedrick, director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

 

The organization's 17th annual survey found more teens had abused a prescription drug such as Vicodin, OxyContin or Ritalin in 2004 than Ecstasy, cocaine or LSD. Marijuana remained the drug of choice, although researchers found a decline in the number of teens trying it: 37% in 2004 compared with 42% in 1998.

 

"We have had success in changing attitudes to the use of illicit drugs, but kids see prescription or over-the-counter drugs as less dangerous," Hedrick said.

 

"And there's an ease of access. Kids have told us they find it very easy to take them from their parents' medicine cabinets, or from cabinets in their friends' homes. Parents have to be aware of that."

 

Mica, a 16-year-old student from East Harlem, said the findings ring true.

 

"I've used them, and I would say most of my friends have," she said yesterday. "They're really easy to get and, because doctors give them out, they're not considered as dangerous as Ecstasy or cocaine."

 

Val, 18, of Montville, N.J., said at a Partnership news conference in Manhattan that he quit abusing prescription medicines seven months ago.

 

"It was tough to stop because they are really addictive," he said.

 

"I was using them and drinking alcohol. It could have killed me."

 

What they get high on

 

 

Number of teens nationwide who have tried:

 

 

Marijuana: 8.7 million

 

Vicodin: 4.3 million

 

OxyContin: 2.3 million

 

Ritalin/Adderall: 2.3 million

 

Cough medicine: 2.2 million

 

Crack/cocaine: 2.2 million

 

Ecstasy: 2 million

 

LSD: 1.4 million

 

Heroin: 1 million

Source: Survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America

 

Author:ADAM NICHOLS

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Date:Originally published on April 21, 2005

Source:Survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America

Copyright:© 2005 Daily News