OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Drug and alcohol experts say more and more teens are passing on the regular street drugs and heading for their parents' medicine cabinets.

To educate students about the dangers of prescription drugs, school officials at Shawnee Mission South High School held an assembly Wednesday.

Experts say nearly 25 percent of high school seniors have abused prescription drugs by the time they graduate, and every day, 2,500 teens try the drugs for the first time.

Drug prevention specialists say it's a potentially deadly trend that needs to stop.

"They think that they're playing with something that's kind of a recreation right now, and it actually turns into an addiction for them," said Ron Griffin, of the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence.

Prosecutors from the Johnson County District Attorney's Office also told students if they are ever caught with illegal prescription drugs, they can face felony charges.