Take a minute to think about every illegal drug you have ever heard about. Think about the effects and dangers associated with these drugs, and think about their severe long-term effects, like seizures, addiction or death. Now, replace “illegal drugs” with “prescription/over the counter (OTC) drugs.” Although they are thought by most people to be safe and trustworthy medicines, they can affect your body the same way as illegal drugs. This article will familiarize you with the most commonly abused prescription/OTC drugs and their effects.

Prescription medications and some OTC drugs are invaluable for people with certain medical conditions and can save lives. Because of these reasons, they may seem harmless, especially if someone you know may be taking them. However, these medications have been prescribed, which means that they are meant to treat a person with a specific medical condition. This prescription is given after a doctor has examined and tested their patient until they can decide what medication they will need. The doctor also explains exactly how they should take the medicine, including things to avoid while taking the drug — such as drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking other medications. But most importantly, doctors are aware of potentially dangerous side effects concerning the medication and can monitor patients closely for these.

You have probably heard of many of these prescribed medications, like Valium^®, OxyContin^®, Ritalin^®, Vicodin^®, Percocet^®, Xanax^®, Lorcet^®, or Soma^®. The majority of prescription/OTC drugs that are abused include stimulants, depressants, and painkillers. Stimulants, like the drugs Ritalin, Adderall, and Dexedrine, are used to increase alertness, attention, and energy in patients with depression, narcolepsy, asthma, and ADHD. Their effects are similar to the illegal drugs methamphetamine (Ice) and cocaine. Side effects include: irregular heartbeat, vomiting, muscle pain, hostility, paranoia, addiction, the potential for heart system failure or fatal seizures.

Depressants, or barbiturates, like the drugs Valium, Xanax, and Nembutal, are prescribed to treat anxiety, tension, and sleep disorders, because they can help you relax and slow down your brain function. However, even in small doses, they have subtle effects on your motor skills, judgment, and ability to learn. Some commonly used rape drugs like Rohypnol and GHB are depressants. Effects include elevated heart rate, fatigue, sweating, disorientation, tremors, and addiction.

Pain medications, like the drugs OxyContin and Vicodin, can help people with chronic, debilitating pain lead productive lives. Many prescribed painkillers are opiates, putting them in the same category as heroin. Getting hooked on pain drugs is essentially the same thing as being hooked on heroin; it’s painful, destructive and expensive, and can cause lowered heart rate, constipation, and severe addiction. Learn more about opiates in the article Heroin

Over the counter drugs, or OTC drugs, are ones that can be bought in a regular grocery store. You may have noticed in the past few years that there are more restrictions on these types of drugs. Some require you to go to the pharmacy to pick them up, or you have to show the cashier that you are 18 years old. This is because cough and cold remedies can cause blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. Even something as simple as aspirin can make your stomach bleed when abused.

Dextromethorphan, commonly called DXM, is a cough suppressant found in syrups and pills. Some slang words for DXM include: robo-tripping, skittling, DM, triple-c or red devils. DXM is a dissociative hallucinogenice ingredient that makes people feel “out of wack” and causes hallucinations; some compare the feeling to the effects of PCP (acid) or ketamine (animal tranquilizer). Common products that contain DXM include: any product with “tussin” in the brand name, cough & cold products, antihistamines and decongestants. Effects from DXM can sometimes last up to six hours and include fever and sweating, nausea, headache and other ill effects.

For all OTC drug abuse, the person is taking much more than the recommended amount in order to get high. What they don’t realize is that they’re also putting extreme amounts of other ingredients and chemicals in the OTC drugs in their body. The side effects of overdosing on the other ingredients include vomiting, liver damage, seizures and coma.

Read more about it in the Combining Alcohol and Other Drugs article.

Everyone is different and you can have a bad reaction to the drugs, even if a friend or acquaintance doesn’t. The most important thing to remember is that taking these drugs and/or mixing them with other drugs can be as unpredictable to your body and your mind as any illegal street drug. Taking them to have a good time, to change your body image or simply “just because” can cause you your life, or your mind—ultimately it is you who makes the choice.

If you have even the slightest concern that you may be drug dependent or are misusing drugs, we suggest you talk to someone at a counseling center about your drug use. If this is an emergency, please call 911, or for more information contact a TeenLine Peer Listener Monday through Friday between 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. or call the Crisis Response System Project at 833-7382 or 484-2970. For information on treatment programs, contact Drug-Free Hawaii at 545-3228 ext. 34. You can also email them at prc@drugfreehawaii.org or log on at www.drugfreehawaii.org.