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Zachary Ball
English 111
Lindsay Drumm
AMS Paper
July 15 2014
Student Zombies
Prescription Drugs in College

Jeffrey, a freshmen in college and a top student in his graduating class
stares at a pile of homework and begins to wonder how he will finish all of it
by midnight. He remembers a friend of his explaining to him that a blue pill
could help him focus and get it done on autopilot. Jeffrey decides that this is
the best option for him and later consumes the pill that he acquired from his
friend. He slowly evolves into a homework machine and continues to use this
strategy throughout the entire semester turning into a student zombie. An
uprising epidemic of zombie-like college students has resulted from non-
medical prescription use. Prescription drugs such as Adderall, Xanax and
Vicodin are being consumed by college students for reasons such as
cramming for tests, finishing homework, or just to get high. Whatever the
reason may be, college students are discovering easy ways to get their
hands on these prescription drugs. What students dont realize when taking
these pills are the health and academic problems that are associated with
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such actions. Selling and buying prescription drugs within a college town
creates an illegal underground and high demanding market which fuels the
student interests getting involved in such activity. What solutions can
experts seek to stop the use of prescription drugs on college campuses?
Prescription drugs that arent self-prescribed have a negative effect on
college students regarding academics and health, yet it is important to
prevent the illegal use of these drugs and the distribution among college
students.
College students nationwide are consuming non-medical prescription
drugs for all of the wrong reasons. According to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, young adults from the age of 18 to 25, are the biggest abusers
of prescription pain relievers, ADHD stimulants, and anti-anxiety drugs.
With that said, the area of abuse resides within college students for the most
part.The amount of deaths resulting from overdose of non-medical
prescription drugs in that age bracket over the past ten years has increased
by two-hundred and fifty percent. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has declared prescription drug abuse a national epidemic that
costs 20,000 lives and $72 billion dollars a year (PR Newswire Association).
Pill abuse has become a main issue particularly on college campuses. A very
in-depth research was conducted a large midwestern university by Sean
McCabe and Christian Teter comparing the nonmedical users of prescription
drugs to other types of drug users regarding related problems. Results
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showed; Over 90% of students who reported past-year nonmedical
prescription prescriptions also reported using other drugs (not including
alcohol) in the past year (McCabe & Teter, 3.1). The study surveyed 3639
undergraduate students and almost all of them reported being polydrug
users. Students may feel the need to use prescription drugs because of the
pressure and workload that they encounter throughout the school year.
Motivation of use is different for everyone yet it has a distinct pattern
for most abusers. A very common scenario that can be the start of an
addiction is simply using leftover opiates from a past surgery for the
intended use to get rid of pain. Once the prescription runs low, you seek to
find more and learn that a refill isnt possible at the strength of pill given
previously. A web survey conducted introduced by James Zacney and
Stephanie Lichtor showed the following responses from college students
from 4 different universities, Please provide the reason(s) why you used
pain medications not prescribed to you, and were shown a list of motives
that included because it relieves pain, because it gives me a high,
because of experimentation, because it helps me sleep, because it helps
decrease anxiety, because it's safer than street drugs, because it
counteracts the effects of other drugs, and because I'm
addicted.(para.13) Although these pain prescriptions may help with
eliminating pain, they have serious side effects that can be harmful to your
health.
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The use of non-medical prescription drugs may result in negative
health risks and are solely intended for those prescribed due to a prior
condition. Amelia M. Arria, a Ph.D from the University of Maryland, and
Robert L. Dupont with an M.D, both authors of Nonmedical Prescription
Stimulant Use among College Students: Why we Need To Do Something And
What We Need To Do both share their knowledge on the matter. They said,
research has demonstrated that nonmedical users of prescription drugs are
more likely to meet DSM-IV criteria for dependence on alcohol and
marijuana, skip class more frequently, and spend less time studying (para.
7). They believe that the long term effect of prescription drugs can result in
bad habits and addiction taking away from your academic performance. Not
to mention, due to the atmosphere of college, drinking is very common
among students and taking medications while consuming alcohol can
intensify the reaction. There is a deeper issue that lies within getting
addicted to prescription drugs and that is the high demanding market of
buying and selling.
Like any illegal activity, non-medical prescription drugs created a black
market among college campuses giving students incentives to get involved
with pills. A student may not only find a way to get prescribed prescriptions,
but also have the ability to earn some side money as well. Arria and Dupont
comment, In a recent study of 81 college students with ADHD, 62%
diverted the medication to someone without a prescription (para. 9). This
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particular study suggests that this so called prescription drug market is
fueled by a high percentage of prescribed medicated students or other
known as suppliers. The root of the problem may not lie in the hands of
the students that are prescribed nor unprescribed but rather the regulations
and laws in place for the disbursement and of these medications along with
the roles of medical professionals.
Finding solutions to help prevent or greatly reduce the use of non-
medication prescription drugs on college campuses may save us from an
uprising epidemic. McCabe and Teter made an excellent suggestion from the
survey results, Given that very few college students with substance abuse
problems receive treatment services, a broad-based screening (with
appropriate referral) could benefit college communities (4). Screening
would allow for Universities to lower the amount of nonmedical prescription
drug abusers, keeping students safe and more importantly sober. Arria and
Dupont chime in, Few college students might know that it is illegal to give
or sell their controlled substances, including prescription stimulants, to other
people AND that it is illegal to obtain drugs outside of the users own medical
prescription (para. 9). I believe that most critics overlook this aspect of
nonmedical prescription drugs. By educating and cracking down on students
about the dangers and precautions of selling prescription drugs to friends,
we could reduce to abuse rates nationwide.
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College students across the nation are abusing nonmedical prescription
drugs creating an epidemic of the century. Pills have become the new trend
on college campuses and are being bartered, sold and bought illegally on a
daily basis. Students are putting their health at risk, more importantly their
expensive education. What motivates these young adults when consuming
nonmedical prescription drugs? We hope to find solutions to minimize the
amount of illegal activity going on between the students and to stop the
abusers of prescription pills. Prescription drugs are not intended for those
who arent prescribed and can have negative results regarding your health
and education. The efforts to stop this uprising epidemic will take years to
come with plenty of experimentation and careful evaluation. Dont become a
student zombie for the next school semester!










Sources Cited

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National Institute on Drug Abuse, The Science of Drug Abuse And Addiction,
2013. Web.
Arria, Amelia Ph.D & Dupont, Robert M.D. Nonmedical Prescription
Stimulant Use among College Students: Why We Need To Do Something and
What We Need To Do. Web. October 1, 2011.
McCabe, Sean Esteban, and Christian J. Teter. "Drug use Related Problems
among Nonmedical Users of Prescription Stimulants: A Web-Based Survey of
College Students from a Midwestern University." Drug and alcohol
dependence 91.1 (2007): 69-76. ProQuest. Web.
"PCMA: 'Safe Rx Initiative' Offers Policy Solutions to Curb Prescription Drug
Abuse and Fraud." PR NewswireJul 24 2013.ProQuest. Web.

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