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What Parents Should Know About Opiate Use

Opiate addiction among teenagers occurs in one of two forms: the use of heroin off the street and the abuse of prescription painkillers found in your medicine cabinet. It's a trend among American high school-aged kids that has progressed at an alarming rate over the past few years. In fact, studies show that about 2500 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 abuse an opiate painkiller for the first time each day. Prescription opiates are more often abused among teenagers than any other drug except marijuana, and they're the drug of choice among the youngest group studied, 12 and 13 year olds. More than 2.1 million kids reported abusing prescription painkillers that were not prescribed to them in 2006.

If your teenager is struggling with opiate prescription painkiller use or heroin addiction, The Canyon is standing by. We have a teen-centered program that we customize according to your child's individual needs.

Opiates Painkillers: The Basics

Opioid-based drugs or opiates are derived from morphine or are synthetically created to mimic its properties. Heroin has no medicinal purposes and opiate painkillers are available only by prescription. If you or anyone in your home are prescribed opiate medication, then your teenager has access to these drugs. Because they are so commonly prescribed, they are most likely available to friends of your child as well.

Prescribed to ease chronic or acute pain, opiates are highly effective, but it is easy to build a tolerance to them, requiring more and more of the drug to achieve the original high it provides. Most teenagers swallow the pills but they can also be abused by first crushing them before swallowing or snorting the drug, a practice which intensifies their effect. When under the influence, your teen may seem overly relaxed and even sleepy or "out of it." When addicted, they may become extremely irritable and anxious when they are without their pills and unusually aggressive.

Common Opiate Painkillers

There are a number of commonly prescribed opiate medications that you can look out for. If you find pills among your teen's possessions and are unsure of their origin, you should know the names of certain opioid-based drugs that are dangerous and addictive. The following is a partial list of mostly generic versions that may have different brand names:

  • Codeine
  • Fentanyl
  • Morphine
  • Methadone
  • Hydrocodone
  • Oxycodone

The Dangers of Opiate Use and Abuse

Aside from the obvious dangers of opiate addiction and overdose, there are a number of negative physical effects related to opiate use and abuse among teens. The ability to learn is inhibited by the use of painkillers, for example, as are control of motor skills and good judgment. Opiates cause respiratory depression and it is easy to take too many, experience respiratory failure and slip into a coma that can ultimately turn fatal. Mixing opiate drugs with alcohol or other depressants increases the chance of both addiction and death.

Opiate Addiction Treatment at The Canyon

OxyContin and Vicodin are the most commonly abused opiate prescription painkillers used and abused by teens. The Monitoring the Future survey shows that, within the past year, nearly 10 percent of high school seniors have abused Vicodin and more than five percent of seniors have abused OxyContin. Drug addiction is a serious problem.

The Canyon offers a complete drug and alcohol addiction treatment program. We provide a safe place for teenagers to detox off of opiate painkillers and recover spiritually and physically while gaining the tools they will need to fight off temptation when they return home. Call The Canyon today for more information about opiate addiction or to find out more about what we have to offer your teen. Get them the help they need today. Call us at The Canyon at .

Call 877.714.1319
If The Canyon isn't right for you, we'll find the place that is.