| Show One pill makes youa f fl out drugged-out drug zombie j I Joshua Harrison Contributing Writer Students of all ages are fighting the battle to be drug free But its it's not the illegal drugs that are the problem any more In recent years more students are abusing prescription drugs and the over-the- counter medications According to figures from the National Institute on Drug Abuse percent of high school seniors reported use of a at least one prescription medication within the past year In recent weeks alone there were two separate cases in which a high school student had overdosed on medicinal drugs Prescription and the over-the- counter drug abuse is even more prevalent among college students According to a survey-based survey study that was published in March 2008 issue of Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine percent of the college students reported both medical and use of prescription drugs and 44 percent reported use only That's just over 20 percent of college students who have i f abused prescription drugs The figures in Utah are high enough to give the Beehive State the distinction of having the highest incidence of prescription drug abuse in the j nation This according to the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health which based this conclusion upon a study conducted by the US U.S. Department of Health I and Human Services Drugs Continued on I Overdosing on Drugs Continued from Al Ai A 1 That study shows that most prescription drug abusers are under the age of 25 Of those abusing prescription painkillers percent are 12 to 17 years old 1349 percent are 18 to 25 years old and just percent are over age 25 The Utah Department of Health reported that Utahans Utahan's died from prescription drug overdose last year That number is twice as high as deaths caused from illegal drugs is not much different In an informal survey of students who attend 12 percent said they have used prescription drugs or and/or over the counter medication to get high two Twenty percent said that they knew at least one student who has abused or is currently abusing prescription drugs 97 percent of those surveyed said that they have access to prescription drugs I have had some friends that have tried getting high highT C T lE lEV BE V on things like or orsome orsome orsome some other type of cough medicine freshman Betty Johnson said Its so easy for them to get their hands on it all they have to do is go to the grocery store doesn't seem to have that big of a problem at least on campus According to the campus police there haven't been any problems with anyone using prescription drugs illegally on campus We Ve dont don't seem to see the problems that most colleges do because we dont don't have dorms on campus assigned Utah Highway Patrol officer Phil Waters said Students pay to be here so they usually dont don't play here In Octo the Heal th Department convened a workgroup to address deaths due to prescription pain medications in Utah Three action steps were recommended to prevent further deaths First educate health-care health providers about appropriate use of opiates for pain management second improve education to patients about appropriate use of opiates for pain management and third educate the public about the risks of adverse outcomes of medical and use of opiates |
