Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

Yesterday CNN reported on the latest study from the National Center on Addiction. The study includes disturbing news about teen drug abuse:pills

"For the first time, the survey asked teens about the ease of getting prescription drugs to use for getting high. The survey found that one in five teens could get the drugs within an hour and that their own homes and friends are the most common sources."

As we mention on our prescription drug abuse pages, teenagers are increasingly experimenting with drugs commonly found in their parents’ medicine cabinets. According to the Healthy Youth Survey, 12 percent of 12th graders used prescription pain medications to get high in the past 30 days. The same survey also shows that an alarming number of younger kids experiment with these drugs. That's why it's critical to learn how to properly safeguard and dispose of your medications.