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There is great news from the latest Monitoring the Future (MTF) Study, a survey that tracks teen drug use from year to year: Overall drug abuse is down among teens. Unfortunately, there's some bad news too: Abuse of prescription drugs remains at high levels. Of particular concern is the continued abuse of Vicodin[R], whose principal ingredient is hydrocodone, with nearly one in ten high school seniors abusing Vicodin[R] in 2006.
Taken under the supervision of a doctor, hydrocodone can be helpful in relieving acute and chronic pain. Yet the risks of abuse and addiction can be very real. As Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of NIDA, points out: "Hydrocodone is a powerful pain medication, but when abused--used without a prescription, from someone else's prescription, or in a different form or dosage than what a doctor would prescribe--it can lead to serious health consequences, even death, especially when combined with alcohol or other drugs."
SO, WHAT IS HYDROCODONE?
Hydrocodone is a powerful opioid (a pain reliever acting on the central nervous system) for the relief of moderate to severe... |
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