Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center has mounted a campaign to educate parents on the dangerous effects of OTC drug abuse that is growing at an alarming rate among teens.

Many parents don’t realize the dangers of OTC drug abuse and some actually think that since the medication is legal and accessible at the local corner pharmacy, there really is no danger. A medicine of particular concern is cough syrup containing dextromethorphan (also called DXM). When large quantities of this particular drug are ingested, your teen may feel the type of euphoria that is generally associated with illicit drugs.

While the complications may seem minor on the surface, they can range from vomiting, confusion, nausea, slurred speech all the way up to heart and breathing difficulties. Parents may brush aside these incidents and chalk them up to “teen experimentation”; however, it’s this very attitude that causes teens to fall into the trap of drug addiction as the cough syrup merely serves as a gateway drug—a doorway that leads to other serious drug abuse that will require drug addiction treatment for your teen.

“This problem doesn’t seem to be slowing down”, says a spokesperson from Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center. “The more talk there is about the simplicity of acquisition, the more teenagers are seeking to obtain this OTC drug. Many states have enacted laws that require you to obtain this type of cough syrup by inquiring at the pharmacy. It’s not that it’s a prescription or a controlled substance, but by keeping it behind the counter, they are able to regulate how many bottles can be purchased at a time, which is a very good thing.”

The most important thing a parent can do to guard against OTC drug abuse or any drug abuse is to be on constant guard, watching for any abnormal behavior or any new routines that just don’t make sense. Being arrmed with preventative information decreases the likelihood of a parent unknowingly waking up one day to a teen addicted to drugs.

Via EPR Network
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