Prescription drugs more popular than street drugs with kids?

I'm sure we will here more about Al Gore's son and his alleged prescription drug charges come next week. Before we get to that, we have to ask ourselves: are prescription drugs being abused more than street drugs these days?

Drug abuse experts are stating that prescription drugs may indeed take over street drugs in popularity soon. Oddly, this comes as no surprise: prescription narcotics and other drugs seem to be at the center of drug arrests from what is reported in the media, and I hear about street drugs (heroine, cocaine and meth) less and less. Sure, that's an objective statement, but it's true.

Are prescription drugs safer than street drugs? That probably varies by use and dose, but that is an ill-conceived perception by young people if that is what is thought. According to experts, prescription drug abuse is particularly common among upper middle class students.