Hitting the Drugs?
College students abusing prescription drugs at an all-time high
- posted: 04 Mar. 2008
- scrolllifestyle@byui.edu
With Heath Ledger’s recent death, resulting from a prescription drug overdose, the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has launched a $14 million campaign to combat drug abuse among American teens and college students, according to www.newsweek.com.
Though the office’s first ad during the Super Bowl was targeted at teens, college students are a major part of the problem.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 indicated that between three and 10 percent of college students are abusing prescription drugs, according to www.utulsa.edu.
“The problem occurs, but not frequently at BYU-Idaho,” said Shawn Andreasen, a pharmacist at the BYU-Idaho Health Center.
“In the last three years, there have only been a couple of occurrences of abuse [at BYU-I], one involving altering a controlled substance prescription, the other involving a person sharing their controlled substance prescription with others,” Andreasen said.
Prescription drug abuse can occur in many forms.
“If someone were to take a prescription in a manner other than that indicated on the prescription label, or if a person took a medication not prescribed for them, even done sincerely, it could be construed as abuse,” Andreasen said.
It may be important for students to understand how to avoid prescription drug abuse, even accidentally.
Students should take prescriptions exactly as their physician has directed, making sure not to change the dosage or how it is taken without the physician’s approval. Never take a prescription drug from anyone else or share one with others, Andreasen said.
“Not only is it wrong, it is also illegal,” Andreasen said. “If you are prescribed a controlled substance, make sure you keep it safe — don’t leave it out where others might take it.”
The Health Center at BYU-I has its own methods of preventing prescription drug abuse where it can. Extensive medical records are kept to verify the medications patients are taking and how often they are refilled, Andreasen said.
Students are also required to present an ID to pick up controlled substances. 
