Spring 2010 101 Research: Prescription Drug Abuse

Medical Concerns

Teens' Drug of Choice: Pills: Abuse Surges in Affluent York Co. Neighborhoods

Christy Mullins. "Teens' drug of choice: pills: Abuse surges in affluent York Co. neighborhoods. " McClatchy - Tribune Business News 4 January 2010 ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. [1]

This article is about the abuse of pills, especially painkillers, among affluent families and college students ages 18-20. Kids are often taking the pills from their parents medicine cabinets and then abusing them with friends. This has become the 'drug of choice'. Death from overdose rates are rising largely due to this new fad. Individuals often mix their prescription drugs with illicit ones, causing an overdose. The article also talks about academically gifted teens who take stimulants called 'study pills' in order to do better on tests. Lindsay

Teen Prescription Drug Abuse a Growing Trend

DAVE HANEY. (2009, December 16). Teen prescription drug abuse a growing trend - Area health officials say more kids are trying risky medications. Journal Star,A.7. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1934862871). [2]

This is a short article about prescription drug abuse among teens, specifically among middle school age kids through college age people. The article talks about the use of painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin, or anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax or Valium and also Ritalin and Adderall, prescribed for attention deficit disorders. Lindsay

Prescription Drug Abuse

"Prescription Drug Abuse : Facts on Drugs : NIDA for Teens." NIDA for Teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse. Web. 06 Apr. 2010. [3]

This is an article aimed specifically at teens ages 12-17. It outlines what prescription drug abuse is, some common drugs, they're street names and uses, and why prescription drug abuse is bad for the user. The article also gives a few statistics. It says that about 7.7% of teens ages 12-17 abuse prescription drugs regularly. Lindsay

Glendora Discusses Adolescent Prescription Drug Abuse

Stacey Wang. "Glendora discusses adolescent prescription drug abuse. " San Gabriel Valley Tribune 15 Nov. 2009, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 6 Apr. 2010. [4]

The issue of prescription drug abuse was brought to the attention of a community in California after a young person died due to the abuse. This article is about the issue within the community, the effects it has on the abusers, as well as what individuals can do in order to help to curb the problem. Lindsay

Ethical Concerns

Prescription Drug Abuse in College

This article discusses how prescription drugs are often used in a college setting including: self-medication, recreation, and to improve academic functioning, which make this issue hard to control. [5]

Gilbert Quintero, Jeffery Peterson, and Bonnie Young. "AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS. " Journal of Drug Issues 36.4 (2006): 903-931. Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2010. Caelyn

Student Groups Tackle Rx Abuse

Paolella, A.. "STUDENT GROUPS TACKLE RX ABUSE. " The Athens News 31 Jan. 2010,Alt-Press Watch (APW), ProQuest. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. [6]

This is an article about a student group who call themselves "Generation Rx" at Ohio University. This group is a combination of OU's Promoting Education, Wellness and Responsibility and its Pre-Pharmacy Club. They have teamed up to attempt to combat the prescription drug abuse problem among college students. The campaign is part of a statewide initiative that includes peer skits and open dialogue for students of all grade levels. The article says that because the drugs are prescription, people often don't see them as being as harmful to their bodies as street drugs, even if the drug is not prescribed to them. This has caused more people to abuse prescription drugs than all street drugs combined, except marijuana. Lindsay

Mental Doping: The Untold Story of Modern Law School Exams

Fenton, A., and J. Wunderlich. "MENTAL DOPING: THE UNTOLD STORY OF modern law school exams. " Student Lawyer 1 Jan. 2010: Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. [7]

This article is about the use of Adderall among law school students during exams. The article speaks of the ethics of this problem, saying using Adderall in law school is the equivalent of an Olympian using steroids. The article also talks about proper use of Adderall for someone who has ADHD is akin to wearing glasses or contacts in a baseball game in order to see the ball as clearly as the player with 20/20 vision. However, improper use is akin to a nonhandicapped person parking in a handicapped space. This article contains a lot of useful information, as well as a very strong ethical argument. Lindsay

Parental Concerns

Over-Prescription of Drugs

This article talks about the ignorance of doctors prescribing prescription drugs for non-cancer pain and how it's affecting today's youth. [8]

Silversides, A.. "Regulatory colleges to set painkiller guidelines. " Canadian Medical Association. Journal 181.8 (2009): 464-465. Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2010. Caeyln

Elementary School

This article tells about an issue with prescription drugs within an elementary school, and also gives a statistic. [9]

ANDREA EGER. "Student shares pills at school. " Tulsa World 6 Mar. 2010, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2010. Caelyn

Castro Valley Forum to Address Prescription Drug Abuse Among Youths

Kristofer Noceda. "Castro Valley forum to address prescription drug abuse among youths. " Oakland Tribune 25 Jan. 2010, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 29 Mar. 2010 [10]

This article talks about a three part information series about substance abuse in youth put on by The Castro Valley Community Action Network. The forums specifically talked about prescription drug abuse in high school students. The article offers a series of solutions for this such as a program that would offer to take old prescription drugs from individuals who no longer use them in order to prevent these drugs being taken and abused by other individuals in the home. Lindsay

Other Websites

Take a Dose of the Truth

[11]

This website contains many resources for parents, adults, and professionals about prescription drug abuse. There is a prescription drug information center, a news and trends center, as well as videos and quizzes all about the use of prescription drugs. Lindsay

The National Institute on Drug Abuse

[12]

This is the website for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. There are many resources here about adult and teen drug abuse of all kinds. Lindsay

The Core Institute

[13]

This is a very interesting and useful website created by Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It overviews the results and findings from something called the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey. This survey assess the nature, scope, and consequences of alcohol and other drug use on college campuses and was drawn from 71,189 undergraduate students from about 134 colleges in the United States. The survey assess alcohol and drug abuse by demographics, prevalence, heavy and frequent use and consequences. Lindsay

The US Department of Education's Higher Education Center

[14]

This website is a resource for the prevention of prescription drug abuse on college campuses. It gives suggestions for assessing the problem and then lists some national and regional data source, key resources, and related articles. Lindsay