Despite a low in teen drug use, overdose deaths in adolescents are on the rise, according to a new study. Experts say counterfeit prescription pills are in part to blame, and that neither families nor the teens taking them know the risks the pills pose.
Highlights
- Teen overdose deaths in the United States more than doubled from 2010 to 2021, study says.
- Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and is extremely cheap to produce.
- Counterfeits are now being made with fentanyl, packaged to look identical to legitimate medicines.
- Experts say schools and families need to focus on educating adolescents on the real risks around drugs, what an overdose looks like, how to access naloxone, which is used to treat overdoses, and how to test drugs for the presence of fentanyl, experts say.
- Parents need to be a credible messenger for their own kids and give them the message that they handle drugs well, they say.