The Partnership for a Drug-Free America says one in five teens has abused prescription pain medication. (WSBT photo)
Story Created:
Mar 5, 2008 at 5:21 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Mar 6, 2008 at 11:58 AM EDT
LAPORTE — Police arrested a 14-year-old in LaPorte Monday for selling prescription drugs at school.
It comes less than two weeks after police arrested three students at LaPorte High School also in connection to prescription drugs.
Students in LaPorte say it’s a much bigger problem.
“It’s easy to get and easy to take,” said LaPorte High School student Ben Novak of prescription drug abuse in school.
He says many students think that because prescription drugs are prescribed, they’re a safe way to get high.
“Kids selling Vicodin, Prozac, loratabs, all sorts of drugs like those,” said Novak. “It’s a sad thing.”
In the last couple of months police arrested four students at his school related to prescription drugs.
In December police arrested a 16-year-old.
Last month, three more students were arrested in the distribution of a prescription drug used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Then, on Monday, the 14-year-old boy from Boston Middle School was arrested for selling a prescription drug used to treat seizures.
School officials say he will be expelled and a second student also involved has been suspended.
“We're suddenly just seeing a little more of a surge of this type of activity, and that's why we need to take a strong stand dealing with it,” said Assistant Superintendent Jim Dermody of the LaPorte Community School Corporation.
But LaPorte is not alone in dealing with this problem.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America says one in five teens has abused prescription pain medication. Also, one in five teens has abused prescription stimulants and tranquilizers.
According to the anti-drug group “Parents, The Anti-Drug,” 2.1 million teenagers abused prescription drugs in 2006.
Ben Novak believes the problem is not going to go away anytime soon.
“Some parents just don't notice it, you know. If their kids are taking their ADD medication to school and selling it — they're not going to notice that and teachers don't notice that,” said Novak.
He worries the consequences could be deadly.
Taking a prescription drug that hasn't been prescribed to you can result in breathing difficulty, paranoia, heart failure and seizures.
Anti-drug groups urge parents to keep their prescription medications hidden and talk to your teens about the dangers.
Thursday, Mar 6 at 3:24 PM Sandra wrote ...
True, the study could be bunk, as all could. Just as a teen can be mature does not indicate their brains are fully developed either. What radical experiments are you referring to. What would the brains of children who did not attend school look like? Home schooled, not educated at all, self learned. I cannot answer that? as there is not enough info. Mostly what I am trying to say, Parents, teachers and staff all benefit by working together. And if the parent is not, who looks out for the kids?