Campaign targets teen prescription drug abuse

Campaign targets teen prescription drug abuse
Story Highlights
One in five teens has admitted to abusing a prescription medication

Anti-drug campaign aims to educate teens and their parents of danger

"Not in My House" recommends parents take an inventory of meds



By Judy Fortin
CNN Medical Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A dozen old family photos were strewn across the table as Gary Neal picked them up one by one.


The attorney from Tulsa, Oklahoma, reminisced about his teenage son, Harrison, who died two years ago at the age of 17 after fatally mixing over-the-counter cold medication and someone else's prescription painkillers.

"There's nothing worse as a parent than to see your kid on a gurney being rolled out of your house ... and placed in a hearse," Neal, 61, lamented. "There's nothing worse than that."

Hoping to get the word out that in the wrong hands, prescription drugs can be deadly, Neal joined forces this year with the New York-based Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

"We have 20 percent of our teenagers, one in five, who have admitted to abusing a prescription medication," said Steve Pasierb, president of the organization. "We know that is based on their attitudes and beliefs that this is safer."
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