Prescription for trouble: from middle schoolers lookin' for a buzz to high school students attempting to lose weight to college kids pulling all nighters, Ritalin abuse is rampant. But most girls don't know pills can be as dangerous as street drugs. Why are so many willing to take the risk? Here are the facts about this troubling trend

Girls' Life, Oct-Nov, 2005 by Sandy Fertman Ryan

Lauren *, an honor-roll student from a loving family, battled her weight all through middle school--and it only got worse in high school: "I was so depressed about my body because, every time I was in the hallways, there was always a girl who was skinnier or prettier. I wanted to be the 'hottest' girl. I felt if all the guys were looking at me, it would boost my self-esteem." So when she was 14, Lauren started taking prescription drugs--medications not prescribed to her--in hopes of losing weight and, in her mind, fitting in better at high school.

"The first drug I tried was pot but, about two months later, I started taking Adderall, Concerta and Ritalin, which are all drugs for ADD or ADHD [Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder]. Everyone I knew seemed to have them--either by prescription, or their parents or siblings had them--so they gave them to me. I knew those drugs would decrease my appetite."

Lauren is one of an estimated 14 percent of high-school seniors who've used prescription drugs for non-medicinal purposes. In fact, a whopping one in five U.S. teens has abused Vicodin (a pain reliever), while one in 10 has abused Ritalin and/or Adderall. And the trend toward teens popping pills is increasing at a record pace. Why are so many girls--girls who won't go near illicit drugs like cocaine, ecstasy and heroin--willing to take prescription drugs?

WHY PILLS, WHY NOW?

There isn't any one reason girls take pills, but the fact that most families have at least some type of drug, whether over-the-counter or prescribed, so easily accessible in their medicine cabinets is a gigantic influence.

"We live in a world where 5 million school-age children take a prescription drug for behavior disorders, so kids learn at an early age that pills change moods. There are pills all around as they grow up, so they do not see them as anything inherently dangerous," explains Carol Falkowski, director of research communications at the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. "Usually, girls who abuse pills are drawn to stimulants that suppress their appetites, because they are so concerned with body image by middle school. There's just so much pressure around them to be thin."

But boredom, rather than weight loss, was the reason Caitlin *, 17, took pills. "I started using pills at 16. A lot of my friends were doing it and, since they said they make you feel really relaxed, I wanted to try them. I was so bored with my life at the time, and I really didn't think it was any big deal to take prescription drugs since they're legal.

"The first time I took pills, I had Soma, which is a relaxant. This guy friend of mine gave me two, and I really loved the feeling of just chilling. From then on, I used them as often as I could get my hands on them. That was easy since all of my friends had them, usually from their parents' bathrooms. Pretty soon, I was doing Soma, Vicodin and Valium--all relaxants."

But Caitlin's desire to chill soon became a daily obsession: "My whole day became about what drugs I was going to do and where I was going to get them. I didn't care about anything else." Sure enough, Caitlin's grades took a major dive. "I went from a B average to a D average, which I'd never had before. I was hung over every day, and I constantly felt drowsy. I didn't give a crap about anything except getting high."

Still, how could a teen like Caitlin, raised in an upper-middle class beach community, be bored enough to try drugs? Even Caitlin can't answer that. But Falkowski does: "Kids are overstimulated nowadays, and everything moves so fast--even cartoons move faster than ever. Teens are constantly looking for more stimulation and have a hard time being able to stop and smell the roses."

Summer *, 17, describes her experience with pills: "My parents got divorced when I was 3 because of my mom's drug and alcohol use. From then on, I was living two lives. I lived with my dad and was the good girl going to church, but when I'd visit my morn on the weekends, I started doing drugs.

"My mom, little sister and brother all had prescriptions for Adderall. One day, I was watching TV and my mom said she wanted me to help her clean the house--so she gave me Adderall to speed me up. I loved the feeling. From then on, my mom gave me the pills in the morning and after school. If I was upset about something, she'd give me more. If you really need those drugs, they calm you down. But if you don't, like I didn't, they speed you up. Soon, I was up to 12 pills a day, often combining them with other pills. Doing drugs made me feel like I fit in. And watching my mom having such a good time popping pills made me think there was nothing wrong with it."

Many teens assume pills are safe. "Kids see pills all around them, and they get e-mails from people selling them on the Internet, so they assume they're safe and no big deal," says Falkowski. "And very few people get rushed to the emergency room for using prescription drugs, so teens don't see the consequences and therefore assume they're not dangerous."