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The researchers started by asking the teens about the last conversation regarding substance abuse they talked about with their parents. In response, 14 percent said that they had actually talked about a certain prescription drug. The report was released by Partnership at Drugfree.org.

Most parents do not think that prescription abuse is one of those biting problems that they should really spare their time to talk about at home, let alone their neighborhood. For this reason, Steve Pasierb says that parents are not ready to exercise their power and tackle the problem. For them use of prescription drugs is a safer option that can’t be compared with the dangerous street drugs. In comparison, an overwhelming proportion of teenagers, 81 percent to be precise agreed that they discussed about marijuana risks with parents. An almost similar number agreed to have discussed with their parents about alcohol issues.

Risk of using prescription drugs

Most parents didn’t actually think that misuse of prescription drugs by teens posed any significant risks. A sixth of the parents were quick to say that use of prescription drugs by teens to feel high is by far much safer compared to use of street drugs. The survey continued to note that a third of parents said that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications like Adderall and Ritallin were capable of improving testing and academic performance in children regardless of whether the teenager had ADHD or not.

For some parents, the drug-abuse problems of their children came as a shock to them. The parents didn’t know about it and knew that having a talk with children about drugs as bad. In an interview, some children said that they raided medicine cabinets at home looking for anything they could possibly use ranging from codeine to Ritalin and Xanax. Nick said that some kids organized ‘skittle parties where the children threw their poached pills in a bowl and mix them. They would then take the pills without having an idea of what they were actually ingesting.

Seeking treatment for substance abuse

Some parents only realize that things are not okay when it is too late. For instance, a parent talked of taking his son to Houston’s Center for Success and Independence for treatment on substance abuse. The decision was quite difficult for everybody at the family and the child make two escape attempts but managed to complete the program and is now sober. During the interview, Nick, the child taken for the treatment and currently aged 16 said that he is better and sober. The teenager said that he at last had an opportunity of getting clean and was looking forward to the entire life ahead of him. The survey recommended parents to clear old medicine stored in their cabinets, including the expired and unused ones to limit their children’s access to prescription medicines. This would significantly nail down the increasing problem of prescription drugs abuse among teens.