NEW ADDICTION ON CAMPUS: RAIDING THE MEDICINE CABINET

Parents have long worried whether their kids at college are drinking
too much or getting stoned. But alcohol and marijuana aren't the only
substances they should be concerned about: In recent years, a growing
number of young people have begun abusing prescription opiates.

The problem is part of a larger trend of abuse of prescription drugs
among teenagers. Several years ago, attention-deficit drugs such as
Ritalin and Adderall became popular among students, who used them to
improve concentration or lose weight. Now there is evidence that
young people are increasingly moving on to even more dangerous drugs
- -- powerful painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet.

Earlier this month, several drug experts testified at a congressional
hearing called Generation Rx about the rising abuse of prescription
and over-the-counter drugs among America's youth. In 2006, 2.2
million people ages 12 and older said they started abusing pain
relievers within the past year, with young adults ages 18-25 showing
the greatest overall use of any age group, according to Nora D.
Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

To be sure, college students use these drugs much less often than
alcohol and pot. Still, the development is alarming because these
painkillers are highly addictive. From 2002 to 2006, the annual
prevalence of use of narcotics other than heroin among college
students rose to 8.8% from 7.4%, according to a University of
Michigan study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. For
OxyContin, annual prevalence of use doubled, to 3%; the use of
Vicodin rose to 7.6% from 6.9%.

The trend is being spurred by the availability of these drugs. Thanks
to the huge increase in the number of prescriptions over the past
decade, many kids can easily find drugs in mom or dad's medicine
cabinet or obtain them from a friend. If all else fails, they can
purchase them from an online pharmacy. Some people don't perceive
prescription drugs to be dangerous, precisely because they are
government approved. And not only do young people underestimate how
addictive opiates are, many don't even know what drug they are
taking. For some, keg parties are being replaced by "pharm parties,"
where kids bring whatever pharmaceuticals they can find, mix the
drugs up in a big bowl and eat them like candy, according to the Drug
Enforcement Administration.

The results can be tragic. Leonard J. Paulozzi, an epidemiologist
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the
congressional hearing that mortality rates from unintentional drug
overdoses are currently four to five times as high as they were
during the "black tar" heroin epidemic of the 1970s and more than
twice what they were during the peak years of crack cocaine use of
the early 1990s. From 1999 to 2005 -- the most recent information
available -- the increase was driven largely by prescription opiates.
There is anecdotal evidence that students who start with prescription
opiates may be graduating to heroin. "My friends convinced me that it
would get me a lot higher," says Chris Arnold, a 25-year-old from
Monroe, Conn., who says his switch from OxyContin to heroin
ultimately caused him to drop out of college.

Although fewer than 1% of college students report using heroin, a
number that's remained steady for years, some emergency-room doctors
say they're seeing more heroin overdoses among college students.
Don't rely on your child's school to tell you about possible drug
use. Federal law allows a college to inform parents if a student
under 21 receives a drug or alcohol violation, but some schools
choose not to. So what do you look for?

Experts say that signs of opiate abuse in students are similar to
those of other drugs: a sudden drop in grades, loss of interest in
studies or favorite activities, change of friends, lying, stealing,
unexplained mood swings and financial problems. "Attend to what the
bank account looks like -- a first sign is if it goes very quickly,"
says David Deitch, chief clinical officer at Phoenix House, which
runs drug-rehabilitation programs in nine states.

As always, you should talk to your child about the dangers of drugs,
including prescription ones. Stay in touch, visit your child if you
are concerned and ask to meet their friends. In addition, you may
want to keep medicines at home locked up. Parents and teens who want
more information on drug abuse and prevention can find it on several
Web sites: justthinktwice.com, drugfree.org, dare.org or
parents4achange.com. "I tell parents with kids who are away: Go with
your gut," says Mary Marcuccio, founder of Parents 4 a Change, which
works to raise awareness about the use of opiates and heroin among
teenagers. "If there is something odd or out of line, investigate it."