Teenagers' high

Teenagers are becoming more inclined towards over the counter medicines to get a high, says a survey.

A new survey has revealed that teenagers are becoming increasingly more inclined towards prescribed and over the counter medicines to get high, rather than taking hard drugs. The medicines range from inhalants, stimulants and painkillers to tranquilizers.

According to the study conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, where researchers questioned 48,500 students across the country, parents need to wake up to this growing trend and watch out for signs that their son or daughter might be using medicines to get high.

The researchers say these drugs can be highly addictive if they are used on an ongoing basis, and the person can become physically, psychologically and behaviorally addicted to them.

The anonymous survey results showed that one in every 10 high school seniors had used the painkiller Vicodin in the last year without doctor's orders. 10 percent of the students had also used the stimulant Ritalin in the last year, about 6 percent had used tranquilizers, and 4.5 percent had used the super-potent painkiller OxyContin.

According to the study boys seemed to like more stimulants, like Ritalin and amphetamines, as well as steroids, while girls tend to use hypnotics benzodiazepines like Valium, Xanax, and Ativan. Drugs called opioids are also commonly used by both boys and girls.

Taking higher dose than a doctor prescribed, or consuming a prescription drug without a real medical reason can have fatal consequences. Not only can drugs react with the other drugs a person might be taking, they can also cause serious side effects, become addictive, or kill.

Following the survey, researchers are asking parents to be careful with their medicines and keep them away from their teenage kids. Researchers are also urging authorities to check the internet hawking of these medicines.