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A recent survey in Michigan revealed some startling facts about prescription drug use in children and young adults: Of the 1,086 7th to 12th graders surveyed, 36% were prescribed drugs in the year prior. And we’re not talking about antibiotics for ear infections – we’re talking about anti-anxiety meds, sleeping pills, stimulants and painkillers. These drugs are dangerous: many of them are nothing more than legal heroin and cocaine. And they’re just as addictive and just as difficult to quit taking. In fact, many people will need a medical drug detox program to get off them.

Although the concern over prescription drugs centers largely around ‘abuse’ – taking them without a prescription or other than as directed – you can quite easily become dependent on or addicted to them despite your doctor having prescribed them and despite taking them exactly as directed. They’ll have the same effect, and might send you to drug detox.

But the most important question is this: how did 36% of kids in grades 7 through 12 get to the point where they need sleeping pills, sedatives, stimulants and painkillers? Can it possibly be true that these drugs are ‘medical necessary’?

I didn’t know anyone – nevermind one in three – who took these drugs when I was in school. And, frankly, they seemed to be generally more centered, more self-aware, more stable, more purposeful and better educated than many of the kids today.

Are drug companies fulfilling a demand, or creating one? I would venture to say the latter. Either way, there’s more drug detox needed now than ever for those who are addicted to, dependent on or abusing these drugs, and I just hope Michigan does something to keep the problem from getting worse.

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