“I can’t tell you how many pills doctors have put me on over the years for problems that I have. I was smart enough to not let it lead to more but I have been around too many kids that weren’t so lucky,” said a Bucks student who wished to remain anonymous.
This generation has too many people on these prescription drugs to “make them feel and live better” but don’t see what it could possibly cause in the long run.
“It really is sad to see all of these kids losing their lives at such a young age from something that really should not be happening,” said Vince Pulli, 21, a business major from Warrington.
According to WebMD, more than 5 million teens, nearly 25 percent, said to have abused their medications.
There have been different names for almost every recent generation, from the “G.I. Generation” all the way up to “Generation Z”. Recent opinions have shown that this current generation should be known as the “Rx Generation.”
Dr. Patricia Schram of the Children’s hospital Boston Center for Adolescent Substance Research noted in an interview with drugfree.org that the younger generation doesn’t realize what they’re getting into. “They don’t know what they’re taking or what could happen to them, and then they end up in the hospital in bad shape.”
Although many teens that abuse drugs come from a family that has a drug abusing history, Schram goes on about how it could happen to anyone. “This can happen in any family, even those without a history of addiction.”
Popular doctor Drew Pinsky also added his thoughts on how adults see prescription drugs compared to the younger generation, telling PBS.org, “Our general attitude toward prescription drugs is that they’re going to make our lives happier and better. Pills are designed to treat medical problems, not to make life easier. Adults think you can use these things without consequences, and adolescents don’t see the long-term horizon.”
According to drugfreeworld.org, in the United States alone, 15 million people abuse prescription drugs. This is more than the combined number of people admitting to abusing drugs such as cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin.
Many studies show that its origin is from the access of prescription drugs at an early age. With the growth in technology and science, drugs are made much stronger and have a lasting impression on people.
You have a headache, take Advil. You have a cold, take Tylenol Cold. We get hooked on these pills and they end up leading to much harder drugs.
Other types of drugs that students know much about are Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, etc. These drugs are used to help people with ADD or ADHD. Many students now a days are prescribed them to help them focus in class, but these are the type of drugs that lead to harder ones and defines why we are known as the “Rx Generation.”
Drugfreeworld.org studies showed each year 4.4 million teenagers (aged 12 to 17) in the US admitted to taking prescription painkillers, and 2.3 million took a prescription stimulant such as Ritalin.
Many Bucks students have experience with taking these types of drugs as well as similar ones.
“I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was younger and took the drug Concerta all the way up to the beginning of high school,” said Mike Lafferty, 19, a sports management major from Chalfont.
“I stopped taking my Concerta after my sophomore year in high school because I would not have an appetite and I was just not myself on it,” added Lafferty.
There are multiple reasons behind the whole drug craze that teenagers get into. It ranges from just wanting to fit into a group, to escape or relax from things like school or their jobs, to relieve boredom, to rebel, or to just experiment.
Oklahoma State’s commissioner of health, Terry Cline, added his take on the whole generation getting into this craze. “Just over the last 10 years, or about 10 years, we have seen a 372 percent increase of the number of deaths from misuse of prescription drugs – it’s huge.”
So many concerned citizens of this epidemic want to try and find a way to stop teens from getting their hands on these drugs. The problem is, people don’t realize how easy it is to get the drugs.
The Huffington Post reports that 64 percent of drugs come from a friend or relative.
“It’s sad to see how easy it is to get the drugs nowadays,” said Nick Swinehart, 20, a criminal justice major from Warwick.
Although we try to enforce all of these laws to try and get drugs off the street, there is only so much you can do with all of the prescription drugs out there that are designed to help people. Even though those drugs are made to help people, it seems like it’s doing more harm than good.
“It doesn’t matter whether you buy your drugs in a liquor store, a pharmacy or on the street; you’re going to be just as dead at the end. You know, addiction doesn’t care where you get your drugs,” said addiction specialist Dr. Hal Vorse.