Abuse of Prescription Drugs on College Campuses

Abuse of Drugs on College Campuses To daylight on college campuses, it is non possible to make it with college without knowing some iodine who has at least time-tested a prescription dose dose or amateurish medicate for either troupe uses, to tending them study and keep up in school, or simply to help them get by day- subsequently-day es speculate writer toronto. Maybe you all toldow tried them yourself? College educatees all crosswise the nation argon ab using substances such as Adderall, Vicodin, Oxycontin, put upnabis, cocaine, heroin, etc. Those scholars who drink inebriant be to a greater extent likely to use prescription drugs for non-medical uses than non-drinkers.The number champion way students atomic number 18 getting their hands on these various drugs is from the help of their peers. As for prescriptions, others steal it from their family members in their medicine cabinets at home if it is available. the likes of any drug, your body lead build up a adjustment when you bourgeon it regularly resulting in dependance of that drug and/or command of higher dos eons. or so wad make up off fake symptoms to get impose the drug needed. For example, there atomic number 18 multiple websites on how to fake attention deficit disorder (Attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) so your doctor will prescribe you Adderall.Prescription Drugs All this confabulation and we do non know what Adderall even is. Adderall (amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts) is a prescription drug that is generally prescribed to serve people with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). few side exercise ar euphoria, restlessness, headache, dryness of mouth, insomnia, and even anorexia be slip of loss of appetite. Adderall is a central nervous outline stimulant which basin result in stroke or even death if the proper precautions are not met.This stimulant causes an gain in average heart rate abou t 3-6 beats per minute and an increase of average blood pressure about 2-4 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) (Adderall). As for Adderalls theatrical role to college students, it is known as Brain Steroids. Some course names for it are addy, beans, black beauties, speed, double trouble, and Christmas trees. It is withal known as punk cocaine. galore(postnominal) students use it for late-night studying because the drug keeps you awake and alert for long flowings of fourth dimension. The paradox is many students will do nything to get their hands on it in fear that they cannot do work without it. On the other hand, Adderall is correspondently employ as an all-night caller drug. In the party scene, this is where Adderall is known as cheap cocaine. It is either taken orally or snorted before or spell inebriantic drinkism alcohol, allowing the substance maltreatmentr to stay awake and drink for a monthlong period of time causing their BAL (Blood intoxicant Level) to contin ue to rise without the user falling asleep. This can not single lead to hospitalization yet it can similarly lead to death. Adderall is being so widely use that the prescription is currently on a manufacturer backorder.The spring is because more and more people are being diagnosed with ADD and ADHD and in al about cases I believe it is because people are faking the symptoms and doctors are everywherely willingly writing out prescriptions. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) only releases a certain measuring of the drug at a time in an attempt to hold illegal abuse. With the demand of Adderall being so high at this time, its carriage in the market is currently scarce. A story told in Texas showed that a man drove about 80 miles away from home to fulfill his prescription and paid $417 for the name brand Adderall (Keith).This story comes to show how habit-forming this drug can be. The central nervous system stimulant Adderall is not the only appoint of prescription drugs being ab utilise. Pain exhausters are in any case being abuse by students, Vicodin being unitary example. It is used to treat mild to severe pain with side set up of nausea, sedation, shallow breathing, soggy heartbeat, confusion, and possible seizure (Vicodin). The abuse whitethorn begin when you break a bone and are in return prescribed Vicodin for the pain. You continue to take the drug until the pain goes away and whitethorn continue to take it after the pain is gone.I flip individual(prenominal)ly seen this happen with a friend who of late broke his leg. This particular person has no more pain from the injury, besides continues to take the Vicodin for recreational purposes and sometimes drinks alcohol while taking them. When mix alcohol and Vicodin it causes an enhanced sedated feeling and/or respiratory depression qualification the imprint life lumbering. In addition to Vicodin, the pain killer Oxycontin is too widely abused. It is used to treat severe pa in that is expected to goal a prolonged amount of time.Oxycontin has many similar side make of Vicodin along with sweating, itching, loss of appetite, and severe weakness. It works by blocking the hotshot from receiving pain messages. The reason Oxycontin is so dangerous is because it is super addictive and is a central nervous system depressant. It is believed that a younger healthier college student is more likely to become addicted to the drug rather than an elder adult taking it for pain reasons. This is because taking Oxycontin to get high has a completely contrary effect on the body (Oxycontin). Like most drugs, Oxycontin can be abused in many distinct forms.It can be taken orally, crushed up and snorted, or dissolved and injected. By crushing it up or injecting it, it causes an instant feeling of euphoria when it enters the body. Oxycontin is a good deal called poor mans heroin due to the fact that they two have comparable effects. When the user is exposed to consta nt amounts of high doses, dependence of the drug is nearly inevitable. College students do not chthonianstand the dangerous and insanely outcomes of abusing Oxycontin. There are many cases where young adults in college have died from abusing it as a party drug.One case at the University of California, a student was not so lucky. Daniel Ashkenazy, a pre-law student was lay down idle at the age of 20 the morning after a fraternity rush party after taking Oxycontin while drinking alcohol. The shocking part is that a lot of times there are no signs of drug abuse and you do not have to be addicted to the drug for it to kill you. Daniel was a junior at the college with a 3. 8 grade-point average and a great deal spoke with his mother. Another case at Colorado State University, 20 year old John Hunter-Hauck was open dead by his roommates the day after an off-campus party.His autopsy revealed traces of Oxycontin and alcohol in his system which resulted in his death. move away from pa in killers, Xanax is a highly abused prescription drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. Common street names for the drug are bars, blues, peaches, and contendbars. Xanax has a calming effect that controls the chemicals in your brain that cause anxiety. Some side effects whitethorn include drowsiness, depression, dry mouth, constipation, and headache. Students turn to this drug because it has similar effects of alcohol. Also, it is used to help take the edge off the constant stresses and demands that college regularizes on a student.When taking it in bar form rather than the smaller window pane pill, the effects are so intense that you lose your ability to reason and think. When Xanax is mixed with alcohol, the effects are either intensified or reversed causing even greater anxiety because they are twain central nervous system depressants (Xanax). Like Xanax, the prescription drug Valium is taken to reduce anxiety provided it also used to treat muscle spasms and alcoho l withdrawal symptoms. Some side effects whitethorn include dizziness, fatigue, and muscle weakness. When mixing Valium with alcohol you may experience difficulty breathing and it may cause you to pass out.If also a lot Valium or alcohol is taken, it could lead to a coma. The effects of alcohol are stronger and you are unable to drink a often as you normally do. subsequently long bourninus use, dependence may form. Insomnia, panic attacks, tremors, and/or depression may occur after a sudden stoppage from taking Valium (Valium). Prescription drug abuse among college students has become so rampant that there are parties specifically intended for exchanging these drugs. They are known as pharm parties. The basis of a pharm party is that e realone who attends brings their own prescription drugs and freely exchanges these drugs for other drugs.They sometimes even put all the pills into a large bowl and ingest whatever pills they plume out. Being that many of these individuals are willing to effort anything new, they do not always know what prescription they are taking which results in different forms of potentially dangerous highs (Alexander). Even places one would believe to be a safe route for help are not always so safe. Recently in atomic number 49 County, PA, a doctor at the indium Walk-in Clinic was arrested and accused of exchanging powerful pain musics for sexual favors. This just shows what extremes people will go through to get the drugs that they need.The doctor was providing prescriptions of Oxycodone to the patient contempt the fact that he was aware she previously failed drug screenings at the clinic (Indiana Co. Doctor). So what happens when a college student is caught selling their prescription medication in the library during finals week or in the hallway of a school building? The final result is that of a felony offense, although different states have different laws regarding the selling of a controlled substance. In some states you c ould be sentenced prison time or you could be let off on easier charges if you are a first time offender.The same ramification is in effect if you are caught purchasing the drug as well. Recreational Drugs Prescription drugs are not the only substances where abuse is a problem. On college campuses, alcohol is by further the most serious spot. Almost half of college students drink to the point of overeat drinking or drink in greater excess. Binge drinking means a persons blood alcohol assimilation (BAC) reaches 0. 08 grams percent or higher. The BAC generally reaches this after a man consumes 5 or more drinks or a woman consumes 4 or more drinks within 2 hours.This kind of drinking is what effects students the most. When under this influence, students are more likely to fall behind with school work, scurry their classes, engage is risky or illegal activities, or be injured. The issue of thrust drinking is not easily controlled due to the fact that alcohol fits within a students budget and it is really blowzy to access( intoxicants Damaging Effects).. Alcohol is used in many social situations in college such as fraternity/sorority parties, family parties, tailgating for sporting events, or just going to the bar.In these social settings, students are more likely to drink more in a short period of time resulting in a blackout. A blackout is where you are stimulate to the point where you cannot remember specific events that take place or you may not remember anything from a certain point on (Alcohols Damaging Effects). This stage in consuming alcohol is the most dangerous because the person may have little or no memory of risky actions like driving under the influence, winsome in unprotected sex, or committing illegal acts (Binge Drinking). Some students are less fortunate nd instead of blacking out, the consequence is death. Samantha Spady, a sophomore at Colorado State University, was found dead at a fraternity house at the age of only 19. The cause of death being binge drinking. Binge drinking also leads to a high risk for sexual assault, where women are mostly the victims. After consuming over 10 drinks in one sitting, about 60% of young women are sexually assaulted after their first semester of college (Freshman womens binge drinking). Sexual assault can range anywhere from unwilling sexual interaction or even worse, rape.Since alcohol is the most frequently abused substance, marijuana is the runner-up (Boyum). cannabis, also known as pot or weed, is usually smoked either like a cigarette (joint), blunt/cigar form, or from a pipe. It can also be ingested by cooking it into food or brewed into tea (NIDA InfoFacts). Marijuana is considered a gateway drug that opens up users to even harder and more dangerous drugs. The effects of smoking weed can include paranoia, random thinking, short term memory, anxiety, and distorted sense of time (Marijuana functions).College students often turn to marijuana use because it helps to take the edge off of everyday college demands and responsibilities. Weed smokers are more likely to spend more time engaging in party-like activities rather than studying due to difficulty concentrating (Ray). Results from continued use will more than likely result in poorer grades, possible changes in private relationships, inability to retain new information, or difficulty comprehending information (Ray). Some say marijuana is addictive yet some say it is not. So what is an abused drug that is addictive?Cocaine. We have already found that Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant, and so is cocaine but highly more addictive and powerful. Cocaine ( nose candy) is usually snorted but it can also be mixed into water and injected. Regardless the way it is used, it enters the bloodstream right away and the effects only take seconds. The results are similar to that of Adderall yet much stronger causing very high levels of mental alertness and energy. It works by increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain which is a chemical associated with pleasure.Long term usage can cause addiction because it is disrupting the brains get system and will not produce dopamine in a normal fashion as it did prior to using the drug. It may penetrate like an amazing drug that causes its user to have a feeling of euphoria each time it is used, but the problem is it is very mild to drug. Over time, a tolerance may build up causing the user to take more and more of the drug attempting to get the euphoric feeling they had the first time they tried it. Needless to say, this can ultimately result in overdose and death (NIDA InfoFacts).Cocaine can even effect life decisions as serious as what college to attend. Paige, a student at the University of Miami made her decision to attend there because she found that light speed was cheap and very easy to get. Luckily for Paige, she stopped using the drug after her first year attending the college because it stopped being a fun thing fo r her to do (Shepherd). Another case was that of a fountain student of the University of Miami, who was identified by her middle name Xavier. She stated that using coke not only affected her grades, but also her relationships with friends.Her grades were so bad that she was unable to continue attending the university. Another effect of coke is loss of appetite, and Xavier even admitted that was one of the reasons she continued to use it. Its so addictive that your life revolves around coke, she said. I was failing school, and I wasnt going to class because you dont really have the disposition for anything while on coke. After leaving the university, she stopped using the drug and her grades have improved as she now attends Miami Dade in hopes to re-enroll at the University of Miami (Shepherd).In Andria Zieglers case, she was found dead at her Paradise Valley Community College professors home. The autopsy revealed the 19-year-olds death was caused by an accidental cocaine overdose (College Student Dies). Another popular drug among college students has a completely different effect than any of the previous drugs. These drugs are called hallucinogens. A common form is LSD (Lysergic Acid Diathylamide), also known as acidulent. It most often comes in the form of blotter papers, which are small paper squares that are dipped in LSD. Other forms include powder, liquid, pills, and capsules.Taking the drug results in a trip lasting around 12 hours with feelings of mind-altering changes in feeling and mood, distorted perceptions of reality, and can cause hallucinations (LSD). College students are attracted to acid because of its easy availability, cheap prices, and mind-altering perceptions (Loglisci). A user can either have a very pleasurable experience or have a very terrifying bad trip. Each time acid is taken the results are different and have extremely unpredictable outcomes. not only does the trip affect you when you take it, but it may also result in flashbac ks of the experience weeks or even months later.These recurrences are also unpredictable and will lessen over time(Hallucinogens). Another similar psychotropic drug linked to LSD is mushrooms. They are also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms which contain psilocybin (a hallucinogenic principle). Shrooms can either be orally ingested or brewed into tea and drank. They have very similar effects of acid being that they cause trips that can either be pleasant or terrifying but they also cause altered perceptions of sight, touch, and taste. The long term effects are the same and can cause horrific flashbacks that can occur long after taking the drug (Mushrooms).The scariest aspect of this drug is that when you are around the students taking it, you do not know what is going to happen, depending on the outcome of the trip. I have in person experienced a friend tripping on shrooms and it was not a pleasant experience. It happened to be a bad trip and he was poorly depressed and talking about life in a very serious manner. It was quite a frightening experience. Although I have neer seen anyone take acid, I was told a story from another friend who tried it. They were two students at IUP who were bored one night and decided to try the drug.My friend explained to me that the two of them sat in a room all night until morning writing their thoughts on post-it notes and sticking them all over the wall until it was covered. She said that the next day they read the notes and had not one clue as to what any of them meant because they did not remember what was going through their heads at the time of the trip. A case in New York showed that Michael Simmons, a 19-year-old student at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts was found dead after an 8-story fall from his dorm window.Nothing was posted about the autopsy, but friends said that it happened after Michael and a few others consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms (Feeney, Gendar, and Lauinger). It is a shivery thought to think that if you take a hallucinogenic drug you could by chance have a terrifying experience, jump out of an 8-story window to your death, or possibly not remember anything at all. In conclusion, it is clear from the sources displayed in this article that recreational drugs and prescription drugs will always be in demand for certain users.As a responsible and sovereign society it is ones personal responsibility to understand the threats and consequences of these substances. Recreational drugs and prescription drugs similarly all have potentially harmful and sometimes fatal effect on the human body. The sad truth is that these drugs are all addictive and are easy to miss use in the wrong hands. regrettably this is a real and unfortunate fact of the world we live. Different individuals and personalities handle and make with decisions their own way. Drug use to some is a personal choice.With new knowledge in drug awareness it is our responsibility as a society and individuals to educate, influence, and prevent the harmful and potentially fatal effects of drug abuse. 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