COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
There's a danger in your medicine cabinet that's putting teens in drug rehab. They're stimulants for ADD and ADHD, but to students, they're known as "good grade pills".
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, more Americans abuse prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants combined, and the Midlands is not immune to the problem.
We didn't have to go far or ask more than two students on the campus of the University of South Carolina to find out prescription drugs are temptation.
"I got offered some just last week, even though I didn't really want them," said student Adam Belch.
Belch, a graduate student, told us he turned them down, but a friend says Ritalin and Adderall, both used to treat ADD or ADHD, pop up everywhere.
"Especially in fraternities and sororities parties, they'll get passed around, because people know each other," said student Harrison Pressley.
"If people are studying together and one person has a prescription, they'll say, 'Hey, do you want, I'm on Adderall and I'm doing great, do you want to take my Adderall,'" said Belch.
Psychology professor Dr. Brad Smith and a graduate student did an anonymous and confidential survey with some 900 USC students.
"Almost everybody who says they've done stimulants says they've gotten it from a friend," said Smith.
Sixteen percent in the confidential study admitted to taking a friend's prescription. It jumped to 20 percent when students could remain anonymous.
"The kids I talk to, they think it's pretty common," said Smith. "It seems pretty regular then, they don't seem to be particularly concerned about it."
At LRADAC they believe that's because prescription drugs have a doctor's approval.
"It seems like it's safe because there's a doctor's name, but again if it's not your teen's prescription or if it is your teens prescription and they're not taking it according to dosage, then it is abuse," said Genice Summers, program director at LRADAC.
The Monitoring the Future study at the University of Michigan found since 2000, the trend of use grows from 8th grade to 12th grade. It was the highest last year among students in 12th grade. Six percent of 12th graders admitted to using Adderall. Some go to extremes pocketing weekend pills for friends or committing forgery at the Pharmacy.
"We see people making up prescription pads and signing the doctor's name and writing their own prescription out," said Addison Livingston, a pharmacist from Hawthorne Pharmacy.
LRADAC has seen kids as young as 12 with prescription drug abuse problems.
"The majority of our teens are age 14 to late 16," said Summers.
What's being done to curtail the abuse? The DEA set limits on these drugs, attempting to lower the likelihood they'll be abused.
"The medication can only be dispensed in a 30-day supply," said Livingston. "The prescription has to be written by a physician, and the prescriptions only good for up to 90 days from when it's written."
That caused another problem this past Spring, making the stimulants unavailable for those who legitimately have prescriptions.
"Kids were getting suspended from school or seeing their grades go down hill or getting kicked off their soccer team and little league teams because they weren't medicated," said Smith.
Dr. Smith feels it's an issue that needs more study and attention.
"It needs study in a really careful way that looks at patterns of use across the school year, across the entire school year, but there's ups and downs," said Smith.
Students know it's a gray area for Universities.
"I think their hands are kind of tied when it comes to that," said Belch.
That makes pharmacists the last line of defense. They're keeping a close eye on the problem, not only for teens, but an increasing number of young adults who are now relying on these drugs for work performance.
"There's not an answer to all of life's problems in a bottle behind a pharmacy counter," said Livingston.
The harsh reality is it's illegal to sell or even give these type of prescription drugs to a friend in the Palmetto State.
Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.
