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Prescription Drugs: Context and Implications
Students' Misuse of Prescription Drugs: Context and Implications
Alcohol and marijuana abuse far outstrip the prescription drug abuse among college students.
But recent studies suggest that prescription drug misuse is on the rise, not only among college students but also among teenagers who will soon be college age.
Consider the following:
A 2006 survey by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that marijuana is the most frequently abused drug among 12-to-17-year-olds.
Seven percent of teens in that age group say they use marijuana, compared to the 3 percent who say they abuse prescription drugs.
But the SAMHSA study also finds a difference between the younger and older teens, with prescription drugs being “the drug of choice among 12-to-13-year-olds.”
A recent McGill University survey of 400 students found that 5.4 percent had at least once used a “study drug,” such as a stimulant used to treat ADHD, without a prescription to improve cognitive performance.
Why might prescription drug abuse among teens and young adults be on the rise?
First, because they’re on the rise in the North American population in general, says Gregory Eells, PhD, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services and the associate director of Gannett Health Services at Cornell University.
Teens and young adults are caught up in a “significant trend in self-diagnosis and self-medication,” he says. (Consider the frequency of television ads telling you to “ask your doctor” if a particular drug is “right for you.”)
College students tend to use three types of medications without prescriptions:
1. Pain relievers, such as opiates
2. Stimulants, such as Ritalin and Adderall
3. Antianxiety drugs, such as benzodiazepines
Students typically don’t use these drugs for social bonding or recreational highs. (How often have you heard of people getting together for an Adderall party?)
Students use the drugs individually for what they’re intended to do—to relieve pain and improve performance.
Prevention and response
Eells recommends the following steps to prevent and respond to student misuse of prescription drugs:
Strengthen the procedures in place at campus health centers for screening students for medical conditions such as ADHD and for prescribing and filling prescriptions, particularly for stimulants.
Offer training about drug-seeking behavior and the potential for abuse of certain types of drugs.
Create consequences for illegal use or distribution of prescription drugs that are similar to those for illegal use or distribution of other drugs.
Communicate what those sanctions are across campus.
Publicize to students statistics about their peers’ illegal use of prescription drugs. Students tend to believe the illegal use is more prevalent than it actually is.
This article appeared in the February 1, 2012 issue of SA Matters.
Source:
Students' Misuse of Prescription Drugs: Context and Implications - NCSL
Prescription Drugs: Context and Implications
Students' Misuse of Prescription Drugs: Context and Implications
Alcohol and marijuana abuse far outstrip the prescription drug abuse among college students.
But recent studies suggest that prescription drug misuse is on the rise, not only among college students but also among teenagers who will soon be college age.
Consider the following:
A 2006 survey by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that marijuana is the most frequently abused drug among 12-to-17-year-olds.
Seven percent of teens in that age group say they use marijuana, compared to the 3 percent who say they abuse prescription drugs.
But the SAMHSA study also finds a difference between the younger and older teens, with prescription drugs being “the drug of choice among 12-to-13-year-olds.”
A recent McGill University survey of 400 students found that 5.4 percent had at least once used a “study drug,” such as a stimulant used to treat ADHD, without a prescription to improve cognitive performance.
Why might prescription drug abuse among teens and young adults be on the rise?
First, because they’re on the rise in the North American population in general, says Gregory Eells, PhD, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services and the associate director of Gannett Health Services at Cornell University.
Teens and young adults are caught up in a “significant trend in self-diagnosis and self-medication,” he says. (Consider the frequency of television ads telling you to “ask your doctor” if a particular drug is “right for you.”)
College students tend to use three types of medications without prescriptions:
1. Pain relievers, such as opiates
2. Stimulants, such as Ritalin and Adderall
3. Antianxiety drugs, such as benzodiazepines
Students typically don’t use these drugs for social bonding or recreational highs. (How often have you heard of people getting together for an Adderall party?)
Students use the drugs individually for what they’re intended to do—to relieve pain and improve performance.
Prevention and response
Eells recommends the following steps to prevent and respond to student misuse of prescription drugs:
Strengthen the procedures in place at campus health centers for screening students for medical conditions such as ADHD and for prescribing and filling prescriptions, particularly for stimulants.
Offer training about drug-seeking behavior and the potential for abuse of certain types of drugs.
Create consequences for illegal use or distribution of prescription drugs that are similar to those for illegal use or distribution of other drugs.
Communicate what those sanctions are across campus.
Publicize to students statistics about their peers’ illegal use of prescription drugs. Students tend to believe the illegal use is more prevalent than it actually is.
This article appeared in the February 1, 2012 issue of SA Matters.
Source:
Students' Misuse of Prescription Drugs: Context and Implications - NCSL
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