Teen brain might get hooked easier on OxyContin

By Amanda Gardner

"Adolescents -- or at least adolescent mice -- are more likely than adults to become addicted to OxyContin, a widely prescribed opioid painkiller.

"The authors of a study published Sept. 10 in "Neuropsychopharmacology" believe this may have to do with adolescents' heightened sensitivity to the 'high' brought on by the drug..."

"A federal report issued last week found that while cocaine and methamphetamine use among young adults in the U.S. fell in 2007 compared with 2006, abuse of prescription pain relievers by young adults rose 12 percent, to 4.6 percent..."

Full article available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/10/AR200809...