On Saturday Sept. 27, The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held the ninth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Across the country, Americans were given the opportunity to turn in their leftover, expired or unused prescriptions at the nearest collection site with no questions asked. The service was completely anonymous in efforts to eliminate prescription drug abuse.

In 2013, the number of Americans abusing prescription drugs dropped from 6.8 million in 2012 to 6.5 million. However, that’s still double the amount of people abusing heroin, LSD, ecstasy and cocaine, according to the 2013 national survey on drug use and health.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22,134 Americans died of overdoses from prescription medications in 2011 along with 16,651 deaths from narcotic painkillers. What is alarming is that many of these prescriptions can be easily accessed through friends, family or even the home medicine cabinet.

“I believe students have extreme pressure from parents, students and peers to do well in college that pushes students to do anything necessary in order to meet the standards and expectations,” said Rico Zayas, junior in kinesiology.

When it comes to prescription pill abuse on college campuses, there is an evident problem. Statistics by the CDC show that about half of students will be offered a chance to abuse prescription drugs by their sophomore year, despite the legalities of this action.

“Many [students] are misusing or abusing stimulates thinking it is going to help them to concentrate and study more effectively, when in actuality, research shows that the kids who are using and abusing the stimulates actually have a lower grade point average than those who are not using stimulates” said Michelle De La Riva, marriage and family therapist and certified alcohol and drug addiction counselor.

Common abused drugs in college include Adderall, Oxycontin and Ritalin due to their relatively easy accessibility. However, students should keep the consequences of abusing prescription drugs in mind with upcoming midterms.

Taking a prescription drug not originally prescribed can cause serious side effects that may or may not be reversible, depending on the severity of abuse. 

Think carefully when trying to pull all nighters this upcoming week and consider a cup of coffee instead.