Prescription Opioid Abuse Among Teens Requires Attention

There are far too many tragic stories of shattered families and lives lost directly related to opioid abuse. The heartbreak, remorse and confusion of parents, siblings and friends mourning a teenager’s death by overdose are life altering.

One such story involved a popular high school graduate with a 4.0 grade point average and a brilliant future. With his whole life ahead of him, he lost the battle with addiction by an overdose of prescription painkillers. In another painful account, a high school athlete willingly shared his prescribed pain medication for his injury with a teammate, who developed an addiction that ultimately cost him his life to an overdose. 

Opioids are narcotics that are prescribed to treat severe or chronic pain. These types of medications run a high risk of addiction and dependency when taken other than prescribed or taken by those with no medical need.

Unsettling statistics and information shared at the 2016 Annual Meeting, followed by reports after the death of the pop star icon, Prince, has re-emphasized and elevated awareness to the dangers of prescription opioid abuse.

Concerns about prescription drug abuse are more than relevant for this membership and their athletic programs after a research study concluded there is a higher incidence of prescription painkiller abuse reported by high school athletes. An article in the Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse stated that 12 percent of high school boy athletes and eight percent of girl athletes admitted to using prescription painkillers for purposes not medically related in 2013. 

Research reveals a number of alarming facts and statistics that indicate the prevalence and dangers of opioid addiction and overdose among teens. Each day in the United States, an estimated 2,500 teenagers abuse prescription or over-the-counter medications for the first time. According to a 2015 Monitoring the Future survey, 14 percent of high school seniors reported using these types of medications for nonmedical purposes in the past year. In 2013, HealthDay published a story that stated 24 percent of high school students had abused prescription drugs.

The abuse of prescription painkillers has a high correlation in leading to an addiction to heroin. Reports state four out of five heroin abusers begin their addiction with prescription painkillers. When the prescription drugs are no longer available or too costly, those addicted seek heroin for an affordable and available drug. As a result, reported heroin cases spread throughout the state and rose from 273 in 2008 to 1,136 in 2014, according to Wisconsin Crime Laboratory data.

In Wisconsin alone, there are more than 163,000 reported abusers of opiates, and it is trending to become the leading cause of injury deaths, surpassing motor vehicle fatalities and matching falls. In addition, prescription painkiller overdoses now cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. 

This is not just an isolated problem in Wisconsin, but it extends nationally. Federal statistics indicate over half the overdose deaths involve opioid-based prescription drugs, quadrupling from 1999-2013.

Much of the pervasive hazard with prescription opioid pain medication abuse stems from the inaccuracies of the myths associated with them. A Wisconsin Department of Justice program, Dose of Reality, aims to educate and prevent prescription painkiller abuse in Wisconsin and dispel the myths. 

One of the common myths is the use of prescription medications is safer than street drugs. However, statistics indicated the sharpest increase in overdoses is from prescription drugs.

Another myth is the perceived source of opioids among teens. Most are not buying them from unscrupulous drug dealers. Nearly 71 percent of the users are either taking them from the medicine cabinet at home or getting them from friends. Seven of the top 10 drugs abused by high school seniors are over-the-counter medications prescribed for other purposes, and studies indicate 83 percent of adolescents have unsupervised availability to their own prescriptions.

To enhance efforts in preventing opioid abuse, a bipartisan bill has been forwarded to the full US House of Representatives that would direct the CDC to develop and produce educational materials with the focus on teens that have been injured playing youth sports. The information would address the addictive nature of opioids and the benefits of safe alternative pain treatments. 

Methods to help prevent abuse include taking medication only as prescribed by a doctor, not sharing drugs with anyone under any circumstances, storing prescriptions in a safe and secure place, and disposing medications properly. 

We join in the efforts of the Wisconsin Attorney General to help prevent opioid abuse by assisting in the promotion of Wisconsin’s Dose of Reality campaign. As we have with performance enhancing substances, we collaborate with administrators, athletic directors, coaches, parents and students to educate on the dangers of prescription painkillers, the warning signs of abuse, and other, safer pain relief alternatives. 

As a membership focused on the safety and well-being of students and athletes, we are tasked with continuing to educate and bring awareness to the life-threatening realities and dangers attributed to prescription drug abuse. The result will save countless teens’ lives and community tragedies. 

A popular coaching axiom states “Winning is never final; losing is never fatal.” That’s true in most experiences, except when it comes to the misuse of opioid prescription pain medications.

Visit DoseOfRealityWI.gov for more information.