Xanax, Methadone and Vicodin Combination Kill Teen

Teen, mother give personal warnings about drug abuse


Corey McNeill, a De Pere High School senior and standout wrestler, left a mourning family behind. The 18-year-old died of an overdose during an October 2006 party after taking a combination of Xanax, methadone and Vicodin.


Matt Danen, 19, is also suffering the consequences. He provided the methadone and is now serving a jail term in Brown County. Upon release, he will still have the ramifications of having two felony drug convictions on his record.


He said he never considered just how severe the consequences could become.


"Everything I did backfired on me in the long run," Danen said.


McNeill's mother, Karen Falck, and Danen spoke Monday night to a crowd of several hundred people at Kimberly High School, providing their personal warnings to parents and students on the danger of prescription drug abuse.


Falck reminded students that they aren't invincible. She told
parents to follow through on their suspicions. Falck suspected drugs and confronted her son, but said she didn't push hard enough.


He could just wrap up that whole conversation with a smile and a hug, and I'd believe him," she said.

Teen Prescription Drug abuse Increases

Studies may indicate that the overall percentage of elicit teen drug use has declined over recent years. However, the teen use and subsequent teen abuse of prescription medication has steadily increased in this age group at an alarming rate. Many teens find the pills in their parent’s medicine cabinet IE., Oxycontin, Vicodin, Zanax, Klonopin and Ambien. Others share or buy them from peers. Shockingly, some teen drug abusers even rummage through their neighbors trash to find leftover prescriptions. Furthermore, teens may not risk buying illegal drugs when they can get high on many household products, such as aerosols and other inhalants.

Based on this information, it is important to remember that what we regard as “unsafe to children” extends to teens as well. Reconsider locking up anything that you might consider dangerous to a child. When you throw away an old prescription, seal it, and grind it up in cat litter or old coffee grounds. These simple precautions may save the life of someone, namely someone you love.

Teens Getting High on Houselhold Products

Studies may indicate that the overall percentage of elicit teen drug use has declined over recent years. However, the use and subsequent abuse of prescription medication has steadily increased in this age group at an alarming rate. Many teens find the pills in their parent’s medicine cabinet. Others share or buy them from peers. Shockingly, some even rummage through their neighbors trash to find leftover prescriptions. Furthermore, teens may not risk buying illegal drugs when they can get high on many household products, such as aerosols and other inhalants. Dust Off, super glue, oven cleaners, and other strong smelling chemicals will kill brain cells and possiably do irreparable damage to the brain.

Based on this information, it is important to remember that what we regard as “unsafe to children” extends to teens as well. Reconsider locking up anything that you might consider dangerous to a child. When you throw away an old prescription, seal it, and grind it up in cat litter or old coffee grounds. These simple precautions may save the life of someone, namely someone you love.

Teen Prescription Drug Use on The Rise

Prescription drug abuse among teens in on the rise. Recently there are more
teenagers seeking teen treatment for addiction and more putting their lives on the line for prescription narcotics. The case on October 20th of the Junction City boy, just fourteen years old, who overdosed on vicoden and morphine at a party is one more case that illustrates how serious this problem has become. Teenagers are now attending parties in which they bring pharmaceuticals, throw them in a bowl, mix them together and each take a handful. These parties are called "pharming" parties. Use of stimulants used to treat ADD and ADHD, such as Ritalin and Aderol are also rising. These amphetamine stimulants are popular among teens because of their availability. In 2006 there were lower numbers of adolescents who abused illegal drugs. There were fairly big numbers of teens who abused prescription narcotics. Teens drug abusers seem to be shying away more from street drugs and beginning to use prescription drugs to produce the same kind of high. These adolescents drug users are under the false impression that prescription drugs are safer. In fact these drugs are just as addictive and dangerous, and mixed with alcohol can be fatal.

Pharming, it’s not the 4H Club

Worried that your teenager is visiting dangerous neighborhoods or hanging with the wrong crowd to obtain illegal drugs? The source of their drug use might be much closer than you think. With increased accessibility to and use of prescription drugs, including prescription pain relievers, stimulants, sedatives, and tranquilizers, you might only need look as far as your own medicine cabinet for your teens’ “pusher.” According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the use of prescription drugs without a doctor’s approval is the second most common type of illegal drug use.

“Pharming,” the slang term for obtaining pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical use from a home medicine cabinet, is a dangerous trend that is becoming a major source of illegal drugs for teens. Easy accessibility and extensive prescriptions of such drugs for legitimate reasons, coupled with low security and a lack of parental awareness, makes this source of drugs particularly tempting for teenagers who may be using drugs or experimenting with drug use. According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.2 percent of youth aged 12-17 had used a prescription psychotherapeutic drug for nonmedical reasons in the past year, and 4.0 percent were current users. Vicodin is one of the most commonly abused drugs among teens, but opioids such as OxyContin are increasingly being abused. Amphetamines such as Adderall, Concerta, or Ritalin, which are commonly prescribed for ADD, are easily obtained from school acquaintances or are legitimately prescribed, and then misused either in dosage or in intake (such as snorting or injection).

The ingestion of multiple prescription medications, as is common in pharming, is particularly dangerous. Teens may be unaware of the potencies of the drugs they are ingesting. They may be unaware of the potential for addiction. Teens may also be unaware, or unconcerned, with potentially severe drug interactions, which could cause serious health problems, hospitalizations, or worse. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, which monitors drug abuse from emergency departments (Eds) across the nation, benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan) accounted for 100,784 ED visits categorized as drug abuse-related cases. Opioid pain relievers (e.g., oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, methadone, and combinations that include these drugs) accounted for more than 119,000 in 2002. Between 1994 and 2002, ED reports of hydrocodone and oxycodone overdoses increased by 170 percent and 450 percent, respectively.

Prescription drugs obtained illicitly are also commonly sold by teens to other teens. “Pharming parties” are events where teenagers swap pharmaceuticals that they have either stolen, or have been prescribed for legitimate reasons. Teenagers may be unaware that selling prescription drugs for money, or trading them with others for non-medical use is illegal and can result in serious criminal charges. Be sure to inform your teen of the dangers of non-medical drug use, and the potential for legal problems.

So what can you do to prevent prescription drug abuse in your child? According to theantidrug.com parents should:
• Keep your prescription medications in a safe place where only you have access
• Take inventory in your own home. Just as you do for alcohol, make note of the amount in each bottle. Also know which medications are commonly abused, and dispose of any medications that you no longer need.
• Monitor the web sites that your child visits on the Internet. Some teens order medications via web sites that are not monitored by the FDA. Check your Internet history to make sure that your child isn’t ordering medications online.
• Know the signs of abuse. The symptoms are pretty obvious: slurred speech, staggering walk, sweating, nausea, vomiting, numbness of extremities, dilated pupils, drowsiness, dizziness. If your teen shows these signs of drug abuse, ask questions immediately -- then talk calmly with them about the risks of abuse.

Parents should share this information with their friends, relatives and the families of their children’s friends to reduce the availability of such drugs to their children. Knowledge and communication may be the most effective anti-drug for you and your family.