Illegal Legal Drugs

I have always known that drugs are illegal, but since coming to college I have become more aware of legal drugs that are being used illegally. People use prescription drugs to “heighten” or intensify the effects of alcohol or marijuana. Prescriptions painkillers and anti-anxiety medicines, when combined with alcohol, give people a more intense buzz. Even a late night at the library for some people can be stimulated by Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD. People think that “borrowing” these medications is okay, when really it is more harmful to them and their bodies than they think. Most people think that these drugs are safer than street drugs because they are used for sanctioned medical use when taken correctly. This is not the case. When people take painkillers, tranquilizers, or stimulants, they are risking a lot. More and more young people are being treated for this kind of substance abuse.
Why are so many people affected by this growing epidemic? Doctors prescribe our society with more drugs than we know what to do with. I know I can look in my mom’s medicine cabinet and find Hydrocodone from when I got my wisdom teeth out and many other prescriptions that I don’t even know for what they were prescribed. There are a lot of stresses in our world, and people turn to taking the edge off with pills such as Xanax or Valium. Obviously people like the feel-good and calming effects of these drugs, but long term they pose serious side effects- depressed respiration, irregular heartbeat, even cardiovascular failure and death. (Heath Ledger just died from mixing too many prescription drugs.)