20% of High School Students Have Taken Prescription Drugs Recreationally

OPEN MINDS Weekly News Wire

Children’s Services

In 2009, about 20% of high school students in the United States said they had taken a prescription drug—such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin or Xanax—without a valid prescription from a physician. The prevalence of prescription drug abuse ranged from 26% among high school seniors, to 15% among freshmen. Reports of prevalence varied by ethnicity; 23% of Caucasian students, 17% of Hispanic students, and 12% of African-American students reported that they had taken a prescription drug recreationally.