College students face higher risk of prescription pill abuse, study says

College-age kids may have easier access to illegal prescription drugs. Counselors are trying to tackle the problem locally.

That’s according to some new statistics gathered by Purdue University between 2011 to 2013. The study found young adults who participate in the college bar scene are nearly three times more likely to sell prescription drugs. It also reports a sharp increase in pill abuse over the past two decades.

Sun Street Centers in Salinas said it helps about 8,000 people a year with issues ranging from alcohol abuse to meth addiction. Clinical supervisor Gordon Horne said about 20,000 people went to the hospital in 2011 because of prescription pills.

“The family members realize that the kids are taking the prescription pills out of the medicine cabinet and having crazy parties where they pour all the pills into one bowl and the kids arbitrarily just pick from it to see what’s happening,” Horne said.

To get families more engaged, local law enforcement agencies are accepting your leftover pills. It’s important to properly dispose of your medication so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Horne said prescription painkillers can have a devastating impact on the brain over time.

“The pleasure and reward we deserve in life gets hijacked and people no longer get pleasure from their family, they no longer get pleasure from a night out with their loved ones or boyfriend or girlfriend. And they look to these drugs to provide them with pleasure and reward,” Horne said.

The study also found young adults from upper middle class families are 23 percent more likely to sell prescription pills to their peers.