ST. CHARLES • Dr. David Ohlms has counseled prescription drug abusers almost every work day for the last 40 years.

For most of his career, his clients were over 40 years old. These days, his oldest addict is 30 and his youngest is 19. Some got hooked as young as 15 and started experimenting with pharmaceuticals at 13.

"There has been a massive increase in younger users," said Ohlms, medical director of chemical dependency services at CenterPointe Hospital in St. Charles. "It's very scary because they are just such dangerous drugs and so easy to overdose on. We are already having a lot of young people dying from overdoses."

While professionals like Ohlms have been noticing higher levels of such abuse by teens, many health agencies have only recently begun tracking the abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year for the first time included a question about prescription drug abuse on its youth survey.

The results, reported last month, showed one in five in high school had, sometime in their lifetime, taken at least one prescription pill such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin or Xanax not prescribed to them. Nearly one in 10 reported taking 10 or more.

A question about prescription drug use was also included on the Missouri Youth Risk Behavior Survey last year. Students in several area school districts reported abusing prescription drugs, some in middle school.

Researchers have found that because prescription drugs are tested and government-approved, children and parents think they aren't dangerous.

Sometimes children who are prescribed medications aren't told exactly how to monitor their intake; other times adults give their prescribed pills to children to treat a similar ailment. "The thing that troubles me about this is the mind set that it is OK to occasionally use medicines that are not prescribed to you," said Ken McManus, coordinator of prevention services for the Rockwood School District. "We are fighting a cultural mind set that says these drugs are safe."

Many professionals believe the growth of prescription drug abuse is a direct result of availability. Baby boomers are getting older and are being prescribed more medication for pain. According to recent surveys, children are being prescribed drugs more often, as well.

A recent survey by Medco Health Solutions of New York found that one in four children and nearly 30 percent of 10- to 19-year-olds take at least one medication on a daily basis.

'Savior Drugs'

Ryan Patterson, clinical director of Youth in Need in St. Charles, sees that as a problem.

"As a society we have decided it is not OK to drink or smoke, but prescription drugs are seen as the golden bullet..." Patterson said. "They are seen as savior drugs, and people do not recognize some of the dangers that come from them. Many parents say they monitor the alcohol or cigarettes in the house, but how many times do you hear them say they monitor their medicine cabinets?"

Officials in the Rockwood School District are moving to address the issue. Renee Heney, project coordinator of the Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition, is seeking a grant that could help educate children, parents and grandparents about the dangers of prescription drugs.

The coalition held four events over the past year where community members could drop off old prescriptions. About 275,000 pills were collected.

Oxycodone, a painkiller, was frequent among the mix and is one of the more commonly abused prescriptions, said Julie Weber, director of Missouri Poison Center. Weber said painkillers like oxycodone contain opium, and can cause drowsiness, loss of concentration, and slow and shallow breathing. They can be fatal in large doses or when mixed with other drugs or alcohol.

Weber has been a pharmacist for 21 years. She said doctors often prescribe medication based on age, height, weight and response to other medications, so taking someone else's medication can be dangerous. Sometimes people find out they are allergic to someone else's medication. Other times a small teenager has an adverse reaction after taking a medication prescribed to a larger and older adult.

Incurable addiction

Paul, 34, who did not want his last name used for this story, is a former prescription drug addict.

He said he first experienced painkillers when he cracked a vertebrae while training for football as a junior in high school in Fredericktown, Mo. He was prescribed Percocet.

At first, Paul occasionally took prescription drugs for the one-time high. But his craving for painkillers grew after he cracked his ankle at work and was prescribed Vicodin. He took all of the 30 pills prescribed to him in three days.

"My mind would tell me you need it, you need it, you need it," he said. "You start dreaming about getting it and doing it. You wake up in the morning and you frantically try to find someone who has it."

To feed his obsession, Paul racked up a $40,000 credit card bill in six months. When even 90 Percocet pills in 48 hours wouldn't satisfy him, he drove to the emergency room and told them he was an addict and needed help.

Now Paul goes to Narcotics Anonymous meetings three times a week. He is off painkillers and sponsors a young adult whose prescription drug use led to a heroin addiction.

Many researchers say that abusing painkillers can often lead to use of harder drugs such as heroin, which is also opiate-based and cheaper.

Ohlms' youngest patient, a 19-year-old who is in her second round of treatment, started experimenting at 13 with prescription drugs and was using heroin at 16.

Over the last year, Preferred Family Healthcare of St. Charles has seen a spike in heroin use in this region. Kim Feaman, program director in St. Louis, said she is not sure if this is due to prescription abuse or not, but Preferred Family has started a statewide campaign against prescription drug abuse.

Peter Delany, of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said the problem needs to be addressed nationally.

"We need to begin to have a national conversation of when you are prescribed medications like pain relievers how do you deal with it when you are done and how do you manage it," Delany said. "The public needs to know how significant a problem this is."