The United States of America contains only 5% of the world's population, however, the country is filled with prescription drugs and devours 80% of global prescription opioids. In the United States, approximately 54 million people over the age of 12 have used prescription drugs for nonlegitimate medical reasons. (Richard, 2018). While many of these drug addicts do not realize the extent of damage that these prescription drugs can cause to their bodies, many teenagers who use these pills recreationally even believe that they are safe because they are prescribed by a doctor. “In 2014, more than 1,700 emerging adults died from prescription drug overdoses. This is a fourfold increase compared to 1999." It is critical that adolescents in the United States are educated about prescription and street drugs and are educated about the traumatic effects both can have on the body. This document recommends a national education program or “anti-drug campaign,” which should take place starting in middle school and would be continuously strengthened throughout high school, targeting adolescents and the formal operational phase. Through this program, parents will also undergo training to understand the signs of teen drug addiction, how to safely store and dispose of prescription drugs, and learn how to communicate the difficult topic of drug abuse to their teens. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay About 18 percent of seventh graders in 2016 had abused prescription drugs, according to a statistic from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens (NIDA for Teens). Most teens get their prescription drugs from friends and family, and often without them knowing. (NIDA for Adolescents, 2017). While children are in adolescence, they are transitioning from being a child to becoming an adult, and it can often be a very confusing time in their life. During this developmental stage, these adolescents are trying to discover who they are and often engage in risky behaviors as adults. With the pressure to act like adults, many teenagers begin to experiment with alcohol, sex and drugs. Although these topics may seem taboo to educators and parents, it is necessary to inform adolescents of the risk factors of the behavior they are engaging in. The risky behavior this article focuses on is prescription drug abuse, which is “defined as non-medical use of prescription drugs, with or without a prescription.” Currently, in U.S. schools, education about drugs and their effects is minimal and often focuses on alcohol, marijuana, and street drugs (cocaine, heroin, etc.). These teenagers don't realize how harmful they can be, but they just know that they could get a good "high" from the pills in their grandmother's medicine cabinet. Adolescence or around 12-13 years of age is the earliest age when the topic of prescription drug abuse should be broached by children. This age group of children has most likely entered the formal operational stage and is capable of abstract thinking. They can now understand that prescription drugs can help some people suffering from chronic pain or recovering from an injury, they can offer sensations that some people may enjoy without medical necessity, however they can also be very dangerous and can be harmful if misused and abused. If this educational program was introduced when thechild is still going through the actual surgery phase (7-11 years old), the child may not be able to understand that these prescription drugs are able to help people who need them, but they could hurt the older sibling who is taking the pills of the elderly grandmother who had knee surgery. To prevent adolescents from misusing and abusing prescription drugs, their education needs to begin at home long before the national education curriculum is adopted in middle and high schools across the United States. As these children grow, it is important that they are not exposed to family members who abuse their own drugs. Parents need to understand why drugs are harmful and how to say no when they are offered them. While your child may now be able to understand why medications are bad for you, it is important to try to explain to them the effects they can leave on the body and how they should always ask for help when handling medications. When these children enter middle school, the educational program will begin addressing all types of drugs and explaining how they are all equally dangerous, regardless of what they have heard in the past. Many of these young adolescents may already have prior “knowledge” that they heard from an older sibling or parent. At the beginning of the educational program, asking children what they have previously heard about drugs is important in order to dispel myths about drugs. One myth many teens believe is that prescription drugs produce a “medically safe effect,” as written in a report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). While in some anti-drug campaign areas, children may have never heard of or seen drugs, many other young adolescents may already be curious about trying these drugs. Children aged 12-13 are more likely to abuse prescription drugs than other illicit drugs, and children aged 12-17 make up one-third of all new prescription drug users in 2005. (ONDCP, 2007) During this time when children are beginning their education about drugs and abuse, parents will learn too. Ideally, parents should attend short workshops similar to those the children are taught, however, this is not realistic for many families with busy schedules and working parents. Parents, however, will be sent emails and newsletters containing the information that young teenagers will learn at school. This will give parents time to educate themselves, other family members, and the children in the home about the topics that will be covered. For parents, sample questions that their children might ask about the material, suggestions for how to respond, and even discussion starters for the family will also be included. It is hoped that by introducing this commonly taboo topic into the home while the child is still young, it will create a space where the child can turn to their parents to ask them additional questions they may have as they begin to experiment with drugs or experience peer pressure to try them. . As some teens begin to struggle with anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and even helping them concentrate, they have begun abusing prescription drugs instead of asking their parents to make a doctor's appointment to get their own prescriptions. This drug education program will adopt a program called Staying Connected with Your Teen, “a family-focused intervention offered to parents and their eighth-grade children to reduce family stressors by improving family coping.” The intent of this.