College Freshmen See Rx Drug Misuse More Risky Than Alcohol, Pot
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 11:55 am | By: Radical Russ
College Freshmen See Rx Drug Misuse More Risky Than Alcohol, Pot – US News and World Report
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) — Freshman college students think the occasional use of prescription drugs for non-medicinal purposes poses a greater risk to their health than smoking pot or knocking back five drinks every weekend, a new study indicates.Between 2004 and 2006, just over 1,250 first-year undergraduate college students were interviewed to assess their inclinations toward attention-seeking behavior; their drug use history; and the relative degree to which they perceived prescription drugs (both analgesics and stimulants), alcohol, marijuana and cocaine to be harmful.
While approximately a quarter of all the students expressed the view that occasional non-medicinal prescription drug use involves little or no risk, just over a quarter said they thought that such use of stimulants and analgesics entails a “great risk.”
This risk perception fell far short of the danger the students attributed to the occasional use of cocaine, which more than 72 percent said involved similar “great risk.”
However, unauthorized prescription drug use was thought to be more risky than smoking marijuana or drinking five or more alcoholic beverages each weekend — each of which was described as similarly risky by approximately 7 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
72% of freshman think cocaine is risky, 25% think prescription drugs are risky, 17% think binge drinking is risky, and only 7% think smoking marijuana is risky.
I hate to have to tell them that they are wrong. Smoking marijuana in college is far more risky than popping pills or drinking… they won’t take away your college aid if they catch you with pills or booze. They won’t kick you out of student housing for pills or booze.
