Prescription drug abuse among teens is a significant problem. In 2012, the Monitoring the Future study reported that 14.8% of high school seniors used a prescription drug not prescribed for them or for nonmedical reasons in the past year. Findings also showed that after marijuana, prescription and over-the-counter medications account for most of the top drugs abused by 12th graders in the past year, with Adderall and Vicodin being the most commonly abused prescription drugs.

In response to this serious public health issue, NIDA developed PEERx, an online educational initiative to discourage abuse of prescription drugs among teens. A component of the NIDA for Teens program, PEERx provides science-based information about prescription drug abuse prevention. You’ll find a variety of free resources, including Choose Your Path videos, which allow you to assume the role of the main character and make decisions about whether to abuse certain prescription drugs. You will also find an Activity Guide for planning events in schools and communities, a partner toolkit, fact sheets about prescription drugs, and other helpful resources.