We’ve all been bombarded with information regarding keeping our kids safe on the Internet: keeping information private, illegal music downloading, cyberbullying, social networking, etc. However, I recently saw a news story about a mother that was totally unaware that her son was not only addicted to prescription medication, but was easily able to purchase it online!
“That’s one of the shocking facts in “You’ve Got Drugs” an annual report on internet access to controlled substances from Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. The report released late last year, also points out that while 18 U.S. states either have or are considering laws that restrict the sale of prescription drugs over the Internet, researchers were able to locate 365 Web sites offering the medications. Of these sites, 85% do not even require a prescription. Some even sell online-only consultations with physicians willing to write prescriptions that consumers can fill at their local pharmacies.” You can read their suggestions at this website: Psychology Today Aug.13, 2009 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pharmatherapy/200908/is-your-teen-or-child-buying-prescription-drugs-online
Some of the things you should know, is that kids can purchase almost anything, including prescription drugs, marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, cigarettes and more. They can learn how to get high on household products such as cough medicine and aerosol sprays. They can find instructions to manufacture dangerous drugs such as methamphetamines.
Children easily gained access to the online pharmacies by typing in a fake age. Yet in some cases, a child may still buy and receive drugs by providing true information — even when their answers should raise red flags. I recently read about how a supervised 13-year-old ordered and received Ritalin after entering her own age, height, and weight on a site's questionnaire!
“I was always searching [the Internet] for new ways to get high,” said Sean, age 17, a teen in treatment at Pathway Family Center in Indianapolis. “My friends and I ordered “legal marijuana,” which was terrible. I found out how to grow marijuana, how to make it more potent, how to crush pills. I linked my IM [instant messenger] to my favorite drug sites so that my friends could find them, too. When my parents wanted to drug test me, I found out online how to de-tox so I could get around the tests and show up clean.”
Parents can visit www.TheAntiDrug.com for additional advice and information. The site features a complete, easy-to-understand tutorial about technology in teens’ lives, tips on decoding teens’ lingo online, as well as specific tools parents can use to monitor their teen’s use of technology. http://www.webwatcherkids.com/teens_technology_drugs.php
“What parents should know:
You can’t depend on monitoring software to catch this.
Drugs often arrive in unmarked packages. Don’t let your child open a mailed package without you.
It’s not always a street drug. Many websites explain how to get high off cough medicine. Monitor your child’s Internet use by checking your computer’s history.
To learn more about this, go to http://www.thebeehive.org/internet-safety/keep-your-kids-and-family-safe/buying-drugs-online
There’s another thought I’d like to share with you. In addition to monitoring what your child does online, please be aware of what’s available in your own medicine cabinets. Kids are very clever and they know how to find what’s available to them. Therefore, get rid of old medications, monitor the amounts of narcotics, sleeping pills, prescription medications that are under your own roof. Take inventory of the cough syrups, cold tablets, etc. and be aware if the number of pills starts to dwindle. We, as parents, certainly don’t want to become enablers!
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