Oregon Public Broadcasting

A recent visit by the nation's drug czar revealed some good news and some bad news about teenage drug abuse.

On the one hand, illegal drug use among teens and young adults has dropped 23 percent in the last seven years. On the other hand, abuse of prescription drugs is on the rise. 

For example, the abuse of painkillers among this age group now ranks as the second most prevalent drug problem in the nation – second to marijuana and not including alcohol. 

Kristian Foden-Vencil dropped by some Oregon college campuses  to see how  the trend might be playing out here.

During drug czar John Walters visit, much was made about the progress in the so-called "war on drugs."

John Walters: “We’ve seen youth drug use go down. We’ve also seen underage smoking decline. We’ve seen underage drinking decline as well.”

But Walters also warned about the increasing number of kids and young adults who are abusing  legal medications.

John Walters: “And this is a different problem which requires us to talk specifically to our kids about pharmaceuticals and to recognize that many of these now come out of our own homes, our own medicine cabinets.”

Indeed, medicine cabinets, can provide a cornucopia of mind-and-mood altering substances.

Painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet are opiates.  Barbiturates like Valium and Xanax depress the central central nervous system. And medications like Ritalin and Adderall -- which treat sleeping problems and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder -- are stimulants.

Opiates, barbiturates and stimulants have long been the mainstays of illegal street drugs.

So the question is: is prescription drug abuse really a problem in Oregon?

At Portland State University, students and staff wander through the leafy campus at lunchtime.

History professor, Fredrich Schuler, and biology major, Sona Zehchari, both have anecdotal evidence of a problem.

Fredrich Schuler: “I know more about it from my daughter as an issue at high school and then of course it transitions into the university where the young kids have to deal with that and come to terms with that. And then I have a colleague who had OxyContin as a medicine and then when she wanted to get rid of the stuff, a student approached her and wanted her to buy some of the pills for resale as a drug among his friends. So I think it’s an issue.”

Sona Zehchari: “I’ve heard that people are taking pills such as Ritalin, when they don’t have illnesses such as ADHD and they’re using them to concentrate -- to study longer.”

But liberal studies major Josh Gross isn’t convinced there’s a problem – at least not at school.

Josh Gross: “I was in youth prison and there was a lot of that there. Out here, where you can get regular drugs, why would you bother with prescriptions, which are much more difficult?”

Across town at Lewis and Clark College, Melissa Osmond works as a health and wellness coordinator. She says she's seen pletny of evidence to suggest that students are in fact abusing prescription drugs.

She's quick to add though that not all students are looking for a traditional high -- some just want “study drugs” like Ritalin and Adderall.

Melissa Osmond: “We do hear of students who use that specifically for a study aid. Sometimes just to have that effect, maybe they’re very busy. Maybe it’s not studying but they’ve got a lot of things going on and they’re trying to accomplish everything they’ve got to accomplish. When you’re talking about other substances such as OxyCotin, Percocet, Vicadin, that are pain killer type substances, they are using it more for the high.”

The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health -- which drug czar John Walters based his warnings on --  clearly shows an increase in this kind of abuse.

But the percentages are relatively low:  about six percent of teens and college-aged students reported abusing a prescription drug within the last six months. By comparison, nearly 40 percent admit to binge drinking and 30 percent to using marijuana.