Pubdate: Fri, 29 Nov 2002 Source: Joplin Globe, The (MO) Copyright: 2002 The Joplin Globe Contact: http://www.joplinglobe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/859 Author: John Hacker, Globe Staff Writer SCHOOLS REPORTING ABUSE OF LEGAL PILLS Officials Say Prescription-Drug Use Growing Trend That's Hard To Detect A recent incident in which middle-school girls were caught sharing a prescription painkiller at a Joplin school shines a local spotlight on a growing national problem. The incident took place Nov. 14, when a student at North Middle School brought hydrocodone, a prescription painkiller, from her home and gave two pills to two other girls. One girl admitted taking a half a pill, and the other girl admitted taking one and a half pills. Jim Simpson, Joplin R-8 superintendent, said schools across the state and across the country are facing problems with children abusing prescription medication at school. "It's a growing trend and a very dangerous one," Simpson said. "Rarely do the students know what they are taking, and almost never do they know the dosage they are taking, so it's a very dangerous trend." The National Institute on Drug Abuse agrees with Simpson. In a report on the institute's Web site, it said a 1999 survey showed that the sharpest increase in "new users of prescription drugs for non-medical uses" occurred in children 12-17 and adults 18-25. The institute said non-medical use of prescription drugs can lead to abuse of or addiction to those drugs. The most commonly abused drugs were psychotherapeutic drugs such as painkillers, tranquilizers, sedatives and stimulants. "Overall, men and women have roughly similar rates of non-medical use of prescription drugs with the exception of 12 to 17 year olds," the report said. "In this age group, young women are more likely to use psychotherapeutic drugs non-medically. Also among men and women who use either a sedative, anti-anxiety drug or hypnotic, young women are almost twice as likely to become addicted." School officials in Joplin said they've seen between 40 and 60 cases a year for the past three years or so of students using drugs in the district. This year has been slower, with 12 cases so far. But, the types of drugs being used are changing, with the trend moving toward prescription drugs. Officials said that in the past, about 30 percent to 40 percent of the drug cases involved prescription drugs, while the rest involved illegal drugs. This year, 60 percent of the cases have involved prescription drugs. Steve Cooper, a school resource officer with the Joplin School District who works primarily at the high school, said students are experimenting with the drugs. "What we're seeing is that often the children are bringing in prescriptions that do not provide any euphoria," Cooper said. "Anything that is labeled as a painkiller or something that can put you to sleep, they are sampling it. These drugs are easily accessible and concealable, and they don't have any of the obvious indicators like some illegal drugs. With marijuana, you have the smoke and the paraphernalia, but you don't with the prescription drugs." Cooper said the most recent case at the high school took place at about the same time as the case at North Middle School, and involved girls and hydrocodone. "A girl had brought five pills that were hydrocodone and another kind of drug," Cooper said. "The girl gave them to two friends. One took two of the pills and another took one of the pills. One girl was visibly lethargic in class, and sometimes that's the only indicator we have of a problem." Cooper said that in the past, he and other officials have found students abusing Ritalin, Prozac and other drugs commonly prescribed to children for mental or emotional disorders. "I asked one girl why she had taken Ritalin that had been prescribed to a friend," Cooper said. "She told me her friend was taking it because she was sad, and, 'I'm sad so it should help me.' She was taking it because she was depressed, but all teens get depressed at one time or another. "What they don't realize is that it takes two weeks or so for these drugs to take effect. They think one pill will make them feel better and then they don't get the desired reaction, so they take two or three of them." Other area school superintendents say they've run into problems with prescription drugs on campus as well. Carthage Superintendent Gary Reed said he deals with the problem on a policy level instead of a personal level, so he doesn't see every case in the district. "It happens in our district, but I don't think it happens that frequently," Reed said. "Every year we get at least one or two cases where students are misusing over-the-counter or prescription drugs. I'm not sure it's happening at the elementary level, but the older kids are sometimes caught with them. The problem is it's easier for the older kids to conceal any pills they bring in, so we probably don't catch every case." In Riverton, Kan., Superintendent Dennis Burke agreed that detection is a problem for school officials. "Our school policy requires that the students taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs bring in a permission form with what they are allowed to take," Burke said. "Could the students take their pills without us knowing? Yes. The problem is detection, and whether we find out about the drugs is a problem." Simpson in Joplin and other area superintendents said their school districts have enacted policies similar to that in Riverton to try to control the use of all kinds of over-the-counter and prescription medications. The policies generally are similar among the schools, requiring the students to bring all drugs, along with a note from the parents or the child's doctor telling how they are to be disbursed, to the school secretary or the school nurse. The policies also describe the specific consequences for violating these requirements. Most say students can be suspended or expelled for violating the policies, depending on whether the students were just taking the drugs or whether they were distributing them. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom