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Helpful Links:

• First Baptist Church - Most Excellent Way Support Group
• Chemical Addiction Recovery Efforts (C.A.R.E)
• TeenDrugAbuse.us
• Partnership for a Drug Free America
• Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs

Here are some warning signs of teen prescription drug abuse.

• depression
• low self-esteem
• frequently feeling sluggish and having difficulty sleeping
• aggressive and rebellious attitude toward authority figures

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Special Report - Prescription Drug Abuse
07/24/08 - 12:38 PM
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We hear so much about teens who fall victim to illegal drugs, but authorities say there is a consistent problem of kids and “legal” medications.

Last fall, five Bay District high school students were taken to the hospital after apparently over dosing on prescription drugs. In many cases, the source of those drugs is closer than you think. News 13 is on your side with information parents can use to protect their children.

“It is a very big problem and always has been.” That according to Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen. The sheriff says a lot of parents may not even think about it…that something at home could lead to danger. Sheriff McKeithen says,

“kids can go in their own bathrooms at home and get an abundance of prescription drugs from their own medicine cabinet and nobody knows it’s missing.”

According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, one in five teens across the country has abused prescription pain medication. One in five teens has abused prescription stimulants and tranquilizers. And, one in ten has even abused cough medication.

Law officers say some of the common medications being misused by kids are Xanax, Lortab, Methadone and OxyContin. Sheriff McKeithen says, “a lot of us are guilty of not cleaning out our medicine cabinet and disposing these items so they can sit there several years in fact.”

A bad experience with taking prescription drugs illegally can bring scary consequences, such as a trip to the emergency room or perhaps something much worse.

Captain Ricky Ramie of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office has seen the destructive effects of teens abusing prescription drugs… such as the death last summer of a 17-year old at a party. Captain Ramie says, “he had taken a certain pain medication for a long period of time abusing it. Then he took multiple of these pills, then took another pain killer on top of that and then drank beer. The M-E (Medical Examiner) said he had been dead several hours before they found him.”

The sheriff’s office reports around 200 felony arrests each year in Bay County with juveniles and controlled substances and 50 to 60 percent of those deal with prescription drugs.

Twenty Eight-year old Rachel Hamric recalls her experience with abusing prescription meds as a teen. She says, “the Lortabs I got from my mom…she had a prescription of them in the medicine cabinet. I started getting angry over not having them I wanted them I needed them.” Was her mother aware Rachel was getting the drugs? Rachel says, “at the end she was.”

Rachel says for her, abusing prescription meds was only the beginning of something worse. “It ends up growing into a stronger addiction.” According to Rachel, “Uncontrollable…absolutely.”

Law officers say the parent is the key. You have to keep up with your kids and what they are doing.

Rachel Hamric found the help she needed that broke her drug addiction and changed her life.

For Rachel Hamric’s drug addiction started when she was in her mid teens ... first the stimulant Ritalin, then pain relievers. Rachel says “The Lortabs I got from my mom. She had a prescription of them in the medicine cabinet.” Rachel says kids would bring the prescription drugs to school and sell them to each other. Her addiction to prescription drugs led to other drugs, some illegal and alcohol abuse.

During those troubling times, one particular drug incident was almost fatal.

Rachel says, “I woke up in the hospital… they said I had been in a coma for about 6 hours. They had found me in my truck on Thomas Drive and they had to bring me back to life.” Rachel says as she left the hospital, she was taken directly to jail.

The real change in life for Rachel came about four years ago. After too many drugs and too many times having to go to court, Rachel made a decision behind bars. According to Rachel, “From that moment on, I made up in my mind and heart when I left that jail. I did not want to leave the same person I walked in as. and I asked God to help me do that.”

Rachel had responsibilities. She had become a mom during some of those trying years… with two children, a son and a daughter. She knew changes had to happen. Part of her new direction in life was a church sponsored addiction program called “The Most Excellent Way.” She credits that program for much needed support and says, “when I didn’t know what to do, they helped me make changes in my life… helped me make decisions… they were just there for me.

We all help each other…when the girls come in we try to disciple them ... grow them up mold them into the woman God wants them to be.”

Four years after leaving jail, Rachel Hamric has a good job, her family and a brighter future. She says, “I can now go out and share with other women you think you are alone, but you are not…that’s what we do ... try to minister to other people.”