Teens find drugs in medicine chest, get hooked

By Renee Cumm
Teens have acquired drugs from home and they have discovered them in the medicine cabinet. Adolescents may begin to look for drugs at home and then they start to search for more drugs elsewhere, according to the Director of Mental Health and Addiction, Sherri Gillette.
Gillette said that drug use isn’t a new issue but it is still prevalent. Now prescription drugs are the focus although alcohol and marijuana use is still common. Adolescents are not the majority of addicts admitted into the Department of Mental Health when compared to adults between the ages of 22 and 35 years old.
Prescription drugs or opiates such as heroin and morphine are not only extremely addictive they can be dangerous to an adolescent’s health, according to Champlain Valley Family Services Outpatient Clinic Director, Paul Lamora. Drugs can hinder an adolescent’s developmental process and stunt their maturity level, he said.
Lamora said that adolescents can easily become addicted to opiates and it is harder for them to stop using them because opiates provide an incredible feeling that they cannot escape.
“These days we see more and more kids drawn to prescription medications such as opiates and they are developing a very serious problem at a young age,” Lamora said.
Gillette said that painkillers or prescription drugs can be easily obtained by adolescents but there has not been an increase with adolescent drug abuse in the past few years.
“It’s kind of leveled off,” Gillette Said.
Results from a statewide Service Need Profile revealed that 10 percent of New York State adolescents suffer from a substance abuse disorder according to, the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. Studies found that the primary substance of abuse of adolescents in N.Y.S. is marijuana at nearly 70 percent and nearly 3 percent abuse of opiates.
“In recent years we have seen an increase in the use of opiates, both the abuse of prescription medication and heroin,” OASAS, Adolescents Program expert, Maria Groves said in an email.
In a 2008 Clinton County survey provided by CVFS Educator, Nichole Christiansen, stated that the percentage of 10th-grade students who had ever used opiates dropped slightly. Students who had drunk alcohol or smoked marijuana also declined.
Some adolescents between 11 to 14 years old do lack self-esteem according to, the Parenting Institute of the New York University Child Study Center. Those young adults could be confronted with matters that are both appealing and hazardous to their health. Different parenting practices related to this issue have been found to determine a child’s success, adjustment, health and mental health. As a child transitions through the adolescent years they need to be guided and parents need to actively participate in the child’s life according to, “Facts and Tips for Managing the Middle School Years”, provided by, the Corporate Council of Child Care Incorporated.
“Sometimes parents play a role in enabling their children,” Lamora said.
Sometimes a drug abuser will try to justify their abuse disorder if the drug is prescribed. It is also possible to have genetic markers or a learned behavior for addiction. Drug abuse disorders can be passed down to a child from the parent, Gillette said.
If an adolescent from Clinton County has shown signs of a substance abuse disorder they can be referred to CVFS where they would engage with other adolescents whom also suffer from such disorders. Adolescents would work with the councilors to identify what triggers them to do drugs and they work to find ways to help them to stop using drugs, Lamora said.
“When you see a decline in drug use it’s because of long term preventative measures,” Christiansen said.
Given an all-embracing commitment to adolescents whom suffer with a substance abuse disorder, the number of adolescents seeking help for disorders could continue to decrease.