Who Uses Over the Counter Drugs
© 2007 by OTCdrugtips.com - All Rights Reserved
Most drugs that are subject to abuse have a typical user profile. In the case of
OTC drugs, teenagers in high school and even middle school are the group
that is most likely to engage in abuse. Studies have shown that the largest
increases in abuse are committed by people between the ages of thirteen and
sixteen. OTC drugs are especially popular in dance clubs and raves, where
they are used as an alternative to the more traditional drug of choice, ecstasy.
This increase in abuse is being reflected by national data. The American
Association of Poison Control Centers reported that between 2000 and 2003,
poison center calls related to teenage DXM abuse rose from 1,623 to 3,271. In
that same time period, calls from other age groups rose only from 900 to 1,111.
OTC drugs are readily available to teenagers. They're legal—and they are
cheap.
OTC drugs have a lot of pluses in the minds of some abusers, leading them to
decide on OTC drugs as their drug of choice. The biggest draw is that OTC
drugs are not illegal. Users are able to simply walk or drive to the store, pick up
a pack of cough medicine, and take it home. It's much easier and safer to
legally buy a drug in a supermarket than to clandestinely buy an illegal drug
through a drug dealer.
Users, especially teenagers, also take OTC drugs because they are cheap.
These users can get high for a few dollars, unlike the hundreds of dollars
required to buy a steady supply of similar illegal drugs. DXM has been
compared to ecstasy, ketamine, and PCP, producing the same hallucinogenic
effects that these drugs are famed for, but for a lot less money. If users can
experience ultimately the same thing with DXM as with illegal drugs, they
predictably choose the drug that costs the least. This helps to explain why
teenagers are the age group most likely to abuse OTC drugs. Without full-time
jobs, teenagers don't have a lot of money to spend on recreational drug use,
so they turn to the cheapest alternatives.
Teenagers like to do things in groups. They like to dress alike, talk alike, act
alike. That may be one reason why OTC abuse occurs in "pockets" within
schools and neighborhoods.
======================================================
OTC drugs, teenagers in high school and even middle school are the group
that is most likely to engage in abuse. Studies have shown that the largest
increases in abuse are committed by people between the ages of thirteen and
sixteen. OTC drugs are especially popular in dance clubs and raves, where
they are used as an alternative to the more traditional drug of choice, ecstasy.
This increase in abuse is being reflected by national data. The American
Association of Poison Control Centers reported that between 2000 and 2003,
poison center calls related to teenage DXM abuse rose from 1,623 to 3,271. In
that same time period, calls from other age groups rose only from 900 to 1,111.
OTC drugs are readily available to teenagers. They're legal—and they are
cheap.
OTC drugs have a lot of pluses in the minds of some abusers, leading them to
decide on OTC drugs as their drug of choice. The biggest draw is that OTC
drugs are not illegal. Users are able to simply walk or drive to the store, pick up
a pack of cough medicine, and take it home. It's much easier and safer to
legally buy a drug in a supermarket than to clandestinely buy an illegal drug
through a drug dealer.
Users, especially teenagers, also take OTC drugs because they are cheap.
These users can get high for a few dollars, unlike the hundreds of dollars
required to buy a steady supply of similar illegal drugs. DXM has been
compared to ecstasy, ketamine, and PCP, producing the same hallucinogenic
effects that these drugs are famed for, but for a lot less money. If users can
experience ultimately the same thing with DXM as with illegal drugs, they
predictably choose the drug that costs the least. This helps to explain why
teenagers are the age group most likely to abuse OTC drugs. Without full-time
jobs, teenagers don't have a lot of money to spend on recreational drug use,
so they turn to the cheapest alternatives.
Teenagers like to do things in groups. They like to dress alike, talk alike, act
alike. That may be one reason why OTC abuse occurs in "pockets" within
schools and neighborhoods.
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