With midterms around the corner, many students will resort to many unhealthy habits. While typical students turn to energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull to stay focused for all-nighters, some K-State students have turned to prescription drugs to relieve stress and increase alertness.
    According to 2007 K-State Higher Education, an informational newsletter, and a drug research bulletin, while only 2 percent of the student population is prescribed a stimulant or opiate, one in five students misuse these drugs regularly.
     Many students abuse prescription stimulants, also known as “uppers,” that tend to increase alertness and physical activity, according to “The Facts,” a K-State drug education pamphlet.
    The most common of these legal drugs are Adderall and Ritalin, which are prescribed to individuals who have difficulty concentrating and staying focused.
    “I just love the instant energy [Adderall] gives you,” said a junior in business. “You just pop one, and you can stay up all night studying or partying.”
    For confidentiality reasons, this student wished to remain anonymous.
    Students also abuse opiates, or “depressants” like OxyContin, Morphine, Vicodin and Hydrocodone, which are prescribed by doctors to relieve pain.
    One large study showed that the nonmedical use of prescription medications is second only to marijuana as the most common form of illicit drug use.
    “Abuse is quantity and frequency, though prescription drugs are not as harmful as street drugs, they still are traumatic to one’s health,” said Bill Arck, director of Counseling Services.
    With so many prescription drugs available, the temptation to use increases during stressful periods like exam times. 
    However, using prescription drugs inappropriately rarely ends after just one misuse.
    “The first time you take a stimulant is always the most intense,” Arck said. “The more and more you ingest it, your body becomes used to the drug, and it’s harder to get the ‘high.’”
    This need to ingest more and more leads to addiction brought on by the body’s reaction to the toxin. Users typically become irritable and angry if they are without the drug, which causes them to use even more frequently.
    “I felt ‘stuck’ and immobilized,” said a sophomore in animal sciences, referring to her Vicodin addiction. “As I came down off the drug, I felt tired and depressed and wanted to take another.”
    This student also wished for her identity to be protected.   
    “Typical withdrawal symptoms include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and more importantly are the long-term health effects,” Arck said. 
    When referring to stimulants, Higher Education claims that while rates of collegiate prescription drug abuse are highest among white men, members of greek organizations and students earning grades lower than a B average, no student is free from the temptation of using prescription drugs.
    Tests and other stress factors can tempt students to resort to dangerous measures to get that A, but there are other ways to obtain energy that don’t include substantial risks, like addiction and death.
    Natural highs can come from working out, getting adequate sleep and eating right, and these methods are not detrimental to students’ health.

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