Report: 1 in 5 high schoolers abuse prescription drugs

ATLANTA - A new report shows that one in five high school students have taken a prescription drug that they didn't get from a doctor.

The abused drugs include pain pills and attention deficit drugs used as study aids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that the drug use was most common among 12th-graders. White students took the drugs more than blacks or Hispanics.

The CDC did not have information on which drugs were abused the most.

The findings released Thursday come from a confidential and anonymous 2009 survey of more than 16,000 U.S. high school students.

This was the first year students were asked about prescription drug abuse.

- AP