Prescription Drug Misuse on College Campuses

Adam Manahan

Truman State University

Prescription Drug misuse is a major issue on college campuses not because it is prevalent, but because those that abuse prescription drugs often do not see the negative side effects.  For the Missouri College Health and Behavioral Survey, 88.7% (n=527) of college students at Truman State University recorded that their families would disapprove of them using prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription and 78% said their friends would disapprove (MCHBS 2013). As you can see, many people are aware that prescription drug misuse is not approved of by their family or their peers, yet they still abuse them. There are quite a few reasons as to why college students still abuse something they know is not approved of and is thought to be risky by 97.5% of Truman students who took the survey (MCHBS 2013). One of the reasons could be that students find taking non-prescribed drugs help them increase their ability to stay awake. Students could also believe that the drugs help them get better grades because it makes them more alert. As this paper will discuss, not one idea is the sole reason but either way, students should be aware of the consequences when taking prescription drugs that are not prescribed to them.

One thing that emphasizes the fact that you should not abuse prescription drugs is that it is against the law. “If you take a pill that was prescribed to someone else or give that pill to another person, it is not only harmful, it is illegal.” The fact that it breaks the law is a concern to some but it is at times, laws about drugs are broken by college students i.e. underage drinking. So if abusing prescription drugs is against the law why does it still happen? I believe that it is not common knowledge that it is against the law. It is assumed that most people know that it is wrong but do not know that they are committing a crime.

Another reason that prescription drug abuse is seen around college campuses could be due to the idea that college students need to stay up later in order to deal with their course load or to study for a test. When surveyed by Truman State University in the spring of 2013, 2/3 of college students that abused prescription drugs reported that they used them to improve their academic performance. With that, only 4% reported that using prescription drugs without a doctor’s approval negatively affected their grades. As you can see from the statistics, students do not necessarily see the negative effects of the abuse because they get instant gratification that shows in the form of good grades.

There are a few ways to reach out to students to educate them and bring more awareness to this topic. One way to combat using non-prescribed drugs to increase academic grades is help students be more aware of their options for disposing of unused medication. In Kirksville, the Police Department and Student Health Center will take prescriptions that have not been used all of the way and dispose of them (called a Drug Take back). This is a safe alternative for disposing of drugs instead of flushing them down the toilet or giving them to a friend who has been asking about them for their grades. Another way to limit the abuse of prescription drugs is to raise awareness of the risks of non-prescribed drugs. With every patient there is a different diagnosis and a different prescription that is filled for them. One patient may have a larger dosage, or a modified drug for their specific problem. Abusers of these drugs may not recognize the differences and could suffer from unwanted side effects. If students are more aware of the risks that can come from abusing these types of drugs, they may be less likely to do so.

Overall, prescription drug abuse is not a highly prevalent issue on college campuses and they are abused in such a way that brings positive effects to the user. This is a very difficult situation for college health boards and Missouri Partners in Prevention to handle because it is so specific. In order to decrease the amount of users and impact the students to make better decisions is to bring awareness to the topic and educate students. This could be done in multiple ways including Drug Take Back events, seminars for freshmen during their first week of school educating them of the negative side effects, and by giving students healthier alternatives to using non-prescribed drugs. This process will most likely be long and difficult but with perseverance and a set plan, prescription drug abuse can be diminished.

Bibliography

MCHBS 2013. (2013, June 4). MoPIP Truman State University. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from trumanpip.truman.edu/files/2011/10/Truman-MCHBS-2013-Reporting.pdf

T., B. (2012, October 21). Using Medicine Without a Prescription Is Illegal. The Alcoholism Home Page. Retrieved September 19, 2013, from http://alcoholism.about.com/od/teenfaq/a/illegal_pills.htm