Oct 8, 2008
Media contact: Patty Wellborn
604-795-2819
or 604-504-7441, local 2819
patty.wellborn@ufv.ca
UFV study explores prescription drug misuse by university students
While speculation continues around actor Heath Ledger’s January death from an overdose of prescription drugs — was it accidental or suicide? — researchers at the University of the Fraser Valley have determined that misuse of prescription drugs among students is a growing trend.
This spring, the B.C. Centre for Social Responsibility, which is housed in UFV’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, surveyed some 1,000 students at UFV and Simon Fraser University, asking specific questions about the misuse of prescription drugs. Misuse was defined as taking a prescription drug for any reason other than prescribed, using it in amounts greater than prescribed, or using it without a prescription.
Amanda McCormick, who served as research coordinator and co-author of the report, says there is a growing trend among post-secondary students to misuse prescription drugs, such as OxyContin or other pain relievers, tranquilizers, and stimulants like Ritalin. Increasingly, these dangerous medications are being used by young people for recreational purposes.
“Prescription drug misuse in the United States has now surpassed the rates of other drug use, including cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, and methamphetamine,” she says. “However, while there is an increasing amount of research in the United States documenting the rates of prescription drug misuse among students, there is a definite lack of information about students in Canada.”
As part of an initiative by the federal public safety branch, the B.C. Centre for Social Responsibility surveyed university students this spring. This is the first study of its kind in Canada, and while the results weren’t alarming, they serve as a definite wake-up call according to centre research director Irwin Cohen.
“It’s clear that we need to do a much better job of explaining the misuse of these medications and what the negative consequences of misuse can be,” he says. “People are misusing a variety of prescription drugs with the misconception that they can do so safely and without concern — but they don’t understand that these are prescribed medications that can be dangerous drugs if not used in the correct manner. That’s why you need a prescription to get them in the first place.”
The participating students were given a 15-minute survey to complete and were asked if they had ever taken a prescription drug that was not prescribed to them. If so, they were asked why, where had they obtained the drugs, whether they had used it more than once, and similar questions.
Many students initially responded by saying that had never misused prescription medications. But McCormick says that once they were given examples of misuse, about one-third of respondents agreed they had indeed improperly used them. Misuse can be as benign as a parent giving an injured child one of their Tylenol 3s to help relieve pain. But, she also notes there is concern about the growing trend of pharm-parties, where invited guests bring their prescribed medications to the party to share with others. There is public misconception, she says, that the misuse of prescription drugs is a safer activity than illegal drug use, because the drugs are legal and prescribed by a doctor.
Students can also get these drugs from a number of different sources, says Cohen, including their parents’ medicine cabinet. Prescription drugs can also be stolen, prescriptions forged, or illnesses faked. Sometimes, users even make repeated visits to several different doctors requesting the same prescription.
“Again, they might not recognize there are consequences to obtaining and using these drugs, because very few people ever report any negative outcomes from their use,” he adds.
However, cautions McCormick, the students are also engaging in activities that could be potentially dangerous, such as mixing alcohol with prescribed meds, or driving a vehicle after taking a mixture of drugs.
“There is a huge gap in the perception about the misuse of these drugs; people don’t understand that these are harmful medications,” McCormick adds. “Heath Ledger’s death is a perfect example of someone who was young, just 28, and thought to be invincible. Yet he died by possibly misusing prescription drugs.”
Cohen says it is important to stress that while the study shows that some post-secondary students are incorrectly using prescription drugs, the frequency of misuse is relatively low. One-third of study participants have used opiates, stimulants, tranquilizers, or sexual performance-enhancing drugs in the past. Nine per cent of students reported they have used a prescription drug for a purpose other than prescribed, while slightly more than that (12. 8 per cent) have used prescription drugs in amounts greater than prescribed. And a similar proportion (12.1 per cent) has used prescription drugs without a prescription.
“The really important message here is that the misuse was lower than we suspected, and many who have misused prescription medicines have only done it once in their lifetime,” he adds. “And since opiates (pain relievers) were the most common to be misused, there clearly needs to be more awareness and education about the possible serious consequences of these drugs.”
The study resulted in a number of recommendations, including more education about the consequences of misusing prescription drugs; specific educational, prevention, and treatment programs for post-secondary students that focus on opiate use; and ensuring that physicians and pharmacists are included in any proposed policy changes to ensure that prescriptions are valid, that students are not doctor shopping, and that students are made aware of the proper method of using their prescriptions. The study also recommended that policy makers start looking at some prevention and education campaigns.
The B.C. Centre for Social Responsibility works in collaboration with provincial and community organizations, law enforcement, academics and education partners, and the public, to develop training and educational opportunities, to evaluate programs, services and strategies, and to conduct research in the area of social responsibility with a strong focus on prevention.
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