Access fuels prescription-drug abuse

By Elizabeth Willis and Lori Holcomb

"In 2004, the College Life Study, a project funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found that about one-third of the 1,200 college students studied abused prescription drugs. Those who used them tended to be more involved in drug use in general or have family histories of drug or alcohol abuse, said lead investigator Amelia Arria, deputy director of research at the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland College Park."

"Many also take stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall because they think it will help them perform better in school, but Arria said studies have shown otherwise."

"Students who use prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes usually have worse grades over time, she said, and are far more likely to abuse alcohol and illicit drugs than their counterparts who don't abuse prescription drugs..."

Full article available at http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20081117/NEWS08/811170303/100...