Reliance Center™ is the first chemical dependency treatment facility in the San Francisco Bay area to offer the full range of medication-assisted opiate dependency services to adolescents age 13-17, in conjunction with a required counseling component. Opiate pill abuse among teens and even younger children has increased dramatically, and research has shown that young people of this age group experimenting with opiate pain pills are more successful in a program of ongoing medication-assisted  treatment, than they do if the medication is provided only for a short period for detoxification purposes. Teens, as do others, do even better if the medication is provided in conjunction with a well structured and robust program of counseling. Our Director of Clinical Services is deeply commited to helping adolescents through this difficult period, and works closely with family members to assure recovery becomes a central part of the family system.

Over the last 10 years the use of illicit drugs, alcohol and cigarettes are down among 12th graders, while the use of prescription drugs is up an alarming 300%. Nearly 1 in 10 12th-graders reported using prescription type narcotic drugs such as Vicodin or OxyContin according to the 2006 University of Michigan Monitoring the Future Study. After marijuana, the second most common category of abused drugs among 12th-graders was prescription medications. After that, cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine and cough medicine (over the counter) are far behind in terms of total users.

• Opiate pain medications like Vicodin and OxyContin
• Benzodiazepines or sleeping pills like Xanax, Ativan, Valium, Lunesta and Ambien
• ADD/ADHD stimulant medications like Ritalin, Dexedrine and Adderall

While the opiates are generally used to get ‘high’ and the benzodiazepines are used to relieve a sense of stress or anxiety, the stimulant medications, usually taken from the legitimate prescriptions of family members, are often used to study long hours, write papers, or prepare for college boards or admission tests.

They are easy to get: kids get them from their friends, their family medicine cabinet, and the internet - where virtually anyone with a credit card can get literally any prescription drug.

Surprisingly, there is a widespread misconception among teens that these medications are NOT addicting and that they are less harmful overall than illicit drugs like cocaine, ecstasy, or methamphetamine. Teens like the way these drugs make them feel. During a point in a teen’s life that is often filled with newly experienced feelings of anxiety and uncertainty around relationships, sexuality, peer pressures of many kinds, and especially increased requirements to produce through academic performance, these drugs can make all of this seem a great deal less stressful or worrisome. Each generation likes to “discover” its own “high”. Kids want to believe they have found something new that their older brothers or sisters hadn’t known about. This time around, prescription drugs seem to fit that bill.

 You can ask your child directly. You’d be surprised how often kids are looking for a way out, and a direct question regarding use can provide that avenue to come clean and start the process of recovery. You can also ask your child to submit to a drug test. There are many kinds available. The most common tests are urine or saliva for traces of various drugs. Hair can also be tested, and can identify usage over a much longer period retroactively, sometimes as much as 6 months. Be advised though, these tests do not provide pinpoint accuracy, and can not usually identify one or even two using events. Generally speaking these tests are best to identify a consistent pattern of use.