A survey of California high school and middle school students reveals that 15 percent of 11th graders, 9 percent of ninth graders and 4 percent of seventh graders have abused prescription drugs, replacing inhalants as the third most abused drug among teens after alcohol and marijuana.
Alcohol use however, dropped by about 20 percent across the age groups. Marijuana and inhalant use had also declined.
Officials attribute the decreases to effective drug and alcohol prevention programs in schools. However they note that such programs are still failing to reach the most at-risk students as there was little change in the percentage of excessive alcohol or high-risk drug users.
Read more: Study: Students Abuse Prescription Pills