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Essay / Combating America's Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic of prescription opioids worldwide. In the United States, approximately 54 million people over the age of 12 have used prescription drugs for non-legitimate medical reasons. (Richards, 2018). Although many of these drug users do not realize the extent of the damage these prescription drugs can cause to their bodies, many adolescents who use these pills recreationally even believe that they are safe because they are prescribed by a doctor. “In 2014, more than 1,700 new adults died from prescription drug overdoses. This represents a fourfold increase since 1999." It is crucial that adolescents across the United States are informed about prescription and illicit drugs and learn the traumatic effects they can have on your body. This article recommends a national education program or “Anti-Drug Campaign,” which would take place beginning in middle school and be continually reinforced throughout high school, targeting adolescents and the formal operational phase. Through this program, parents will also receive training to understand the signs of adolescent substance abuse, how to safely store and dispose of prescription medications, and learn how to communicate with their teen about the difficult topic of substance abuse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayIn 2016, about 18 percent of twelfth graders had abused prescription drugs, according to a statistic from the National Institute on Adolescent Drug Abuse (NIDA for Adolescents). Most teens get their prescription medications from friends and family, and often without their knowledge. (NIDA for Adolescents, 2017). While children are in their teens, they are transitioning from being a child to becoming an adult, and this can often be a very confusing time in their lives. During this stage of development, these adolescents are trying to figure out who they are and often engage in risky adult behaviors. Under pressure to act like adults, many adolescents begin to experiment with alcohol, sex, and drugs. Although these subjects may seem taboo to educators and parents, it is necessary to inform adolescents of the risk factors for the behaviors they adopt. The risk behavior this article focuses on is prescription drug abuse, which is “defined as nonmedical use of prescription drugs with or without a prescription.” Currently, in American schools, education about drugs and their effects is very minimal and often focuses on alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs (cocaine, heroin, etc.). These teenagers don't realize how harmful they can be, just that the pills in their grandmother's medicine cabinet might give them a good effect. Adolescence or around 12-13 years of age is the earliest age at which the topic of prescription drug abuse should be discussed with children. This age group of children has most likely entered the formal operational phase and is capable of abstract thought. They can now understand that prescription medications can help some people who have chronic pain or are recovering from an injury, that they can provide sensations that some people without a medical need may enjoy, but that they can alsobe very dangerous and harmful if misused. and abused. If this educational program was introduced while a child is still in the concrete operational phase (7-11 years old), the child may not be able to understand that these prescription medications are capable of helping people who have a medical need, but it could hurt their older brother who takes pills from their elderly grandmother who had knee surgery. To prevent adolescents from abusing prescription drugs, they must begin their education at home well before the National Education Curriculum is adopted in America's middle and high schools. While these children are growing up, it is important that they are not exposed to family members who abuse their own medications. Parents need to understand why drugs are harmful and how to say no when offered them. Even if their child is now able to understand why medications are bad, it is important to try to explain to them the effects they can leave on your body and how they should always ask for help when handling medications . When these children enter middle school, the educational program will begin by addressing all kinds of drugs and the fact that they are all equally dangerous, no matter what they have heard in the past. Many of these young teens may already have prior "knowledge" that they heard from an older sibling or parent. At the beginning of the educational program, it is important to ask children what they have already heard about drugs so that you can debunk myths about drugs. A myth many teens believe is that prescription drugs produce a "medically safe effect," as a report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) puts it. While in some areas where the anti-drug campaign is being carried out, children may never have heard of or seen drugs, many other teenagers may already be curious about trying these drugs. 12-13 year olds are more likely to abuse prescription drugs than other illicit drugs and 12-17 year olds accounted for a third of all new prescription drug users in 2005. (ONDCP, 2007) During this period when the children begin their education about drugs and abuse, parents will learn too. Ideally, parents would attend short seminars similar to those that children are required to attend, but this is not realistic for many families with busy schedules and working parents. Parents will, however, receive emails and newsletters with information that young teens will learn at school. This will give parents time to educate themselves, other family members and children in the home on the topics that will be covered. Parents will also include examples of questions their child might ask them about the material, suggestions on how to answer them, and even discussion starters for the family. Hopefully, by introducing this generally taboo topic into the home while the child is still young, it will provide a space where the child can come to the parent to ask other questions they may have when starting out. to use drugs or face peer pressure to try them. . As some teens begin to suffer from anxiety, difficulty sleeping and even concentrating, they have turned to abusing prescription medications instead of asking their parents to make an appointment with a doctor to 'they prescribe to them themselves. This anti-drug educational program will adopt a program entitled..
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