Fighting opioid addiction in young people

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - How to combat the opioid addiction problem in our youth is a common topic among medical professionals.

The illicit opioid use in our country has more than doubled between 1991 and 2012. Those numbers are soaring astronomically among those ages 12 to 25.

Over-prescribing results in addiction, medical experts say. Yet, 90 percent of drug-addicted youth get no treatment at all according to the 2012 national survey on drug use and health.

Medical professionals like Dr. Harris Stratyner discussed a drug that may be able to help combat this problem: buphenorphine. Dr. Stratyner explained that buphenorphine is an agonist, which is a drug that gives you a small high. Using it for six months to a year can help addicts get off opioids.

It is another approach to combating a problem that is taking the lives of too many of our youth.