TV personality Dr. Drew Pinsky joins drug abuse prevention campaign

By Staff Writer

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five high school students has taken a prescription drug that was not prescribed for them by a doctor. In addition, 2,500 young people use a prescription pain reliever to get high for the first time every day.

In order to combat this issue, addiction expert and television personality Dr. Drew Pinsky is joining the Smart Moves, Smart Choices educational program. The initiative, which was designed for middle and high school students, was created to educate teens, parents and teachers about the risks of abusing prescription drugs.

Many teens do not realize that abusing these medications or mixing them with alcohol can cause serious health consequences and possibly death, even if it is done just once, according to Pinsky.

The doctor says that in order to keep teens safe, parents ought to remove all prescription medications from the home or keep them locked up. In addition, parents should be aware of the signs of drug abuse and keep communication open with their children.

DrugFree.org reports that nearly 4.5 million teens report abusing prescription medications in order to get high.