Drug education should focus more on prevention
According to a Sept. 19 data collection by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, automobile collisions have been replaced as the leading cause of accidental fatalities in the United States by a new kind of danger: drug overdose.
The latest report from the CDC includes the figures from 2009 and showed that 37,485 people died from prescription painkiller overdose in that year. The number, though already disturbingly high, only continues to grow. Time magazine also reports a rise of “63 percent between 1999 and 2004, and then another 27 percent between 2007 and 2009” of fatalities from drug overdose.
Columbia’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse 2007 report reveals almost half of the 5.4 million full-time college students in the United States “abuse drugs or drink alcohol on binges at least once a month.”
This disconcerting rise in deaths from drug overdose reflects an even more disturbing trend particularly affecting college-age youths.
Obviously USC faces the same problems as most other universities. USC hardly fares any better with drug abuse on campus. The university has the ability to take adequate preventative measures before a tragedy forces us to confront the situation by making drug education of prescription drugs more prevalent from the moment freshmen arrive for orientation.
Though certain programs, such as Trojans Care for Trojans, do exist, more specific measures targeting drug use are required. The establishment of more educational programs, coupled with an active university message about the dangers of prescription drug abuse will help curb abuse.
Educators should issue harsher warnings stating that, while abusing any drugs from amphetamines to opioids and narcotics can be dangerous, dangerous combinations of sedatives ,such as alcohol, anti-anxiety pills, sleeping pills, etc, have been shown to have the riskiest effects, according to the CDC.
In combination with “study-drugs” such as Adderall and Ritalin or a variety of other deadly cocktails, sedative drugs have made a palpable but largely disregarded imprint onto college campuses. USC’s orientation program should have a prescription drug education segment clearly illustrating the dangers of Adderall and other prescription drugs.
According to USA Today, “college students have higher rates of alcohol or drug addiction than the general public: 22.9 percent of students meet the medical definition for alcohol or drug abuse or dependence … compared with 8.5 percent of all people 12 and older.”
From 1999 to 2008, the United States witnessed a staggering 122% increase in college-age youth hospitalizations because of prescription painkillers such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and Demerol, according to a study done by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. A dangerous mix of painkiller abuse with alcohol consumption or anti-anxiety drugs has led to a tripling of deaths attributed to illegal painkiller use and a skyrocketing rise in hospitalizations.
Attempts by other universities such as prescription drug monitoring programs targeting vulnerable populations have appeared to have little to no effect on managing the continually rising rates of drug abuse and deaths.
Critics have often castigated doctors for carelessly prescribing painkillers to any random patient complaining from phantom afflictions, but the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health has shown 83 percent of prescription drug abusers obtain their drugs from friends or relatives.
Though many students believe in programs preaching abstinence are too idealistic, Adderall should only be used by those who have a legitimate prescription. The university has the ability to enforce these messages up front. Taking preventative action should be the route the university takes in drug education.
Joseph Califano, president of CASA, identifies the dismissive attitude of school administrators as a main source of the problem.
“[Drug abuse is] not on the radar screen of college presidents. This is not a priority,” Califano said to USA Today. “We believe they have an obligation to protect the health and safety of their students.”
CASA’s 2007 survey of administrators revealed that as high as two-thirds put the responsibility of stopping drug abuse solely upon the students. Though the ability to overcome drug abuse and addiction ultimately rests with the individual, it is disconcerting to see such a callous nonchalance about something as serious as deaths and hospitalizations because of overdose.
Though there are no formal facts and figures on drug abuse at USC, it most certainly does occur. The lack of concrete numbers and actions against drug abuse speak volumes about the importance of student abuse at USC and inaction from the administration.
Rebecca Gao is a sophomore majoring in global health and biological sciences.