Young People Driving Epidemic of Prescription Drug Abuse, Study Finds; Abuse of Nonmedical Analgesics Up 40 Percent

Science Daily, October 15, 2012

"A new study by the University of Colorado Denver reveals that today's adolescents are abusing prescription pain medications like vicodin, valium and oxycontin at a rate 40 percent higher than previous generations. That makes it the second most common form of illegal drug use in the U.S. after marijuana, according to Richard Miech, Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of sociology at CU Denver.
'Prescription drug use is the next big epidemic,' Miech said. 'Everyone in this field has recognized that there is a big increase in the abuse of nonmedical analgesics but our study shows that it is accelerating among today's generation of adolescents.'" Read More