I’M NOT USING HEROINE OR COCAINE. IT’S ONLY A FEW LITTLE PILLS

Is that a familiar-sounding rationale? Is it yours—or that of your college-age child? Do you, he, or she take stimulant drugs—“uppers,” whether amphetamines or certain prescription drugs—to help have a good time? Does getting together with friends in the evening sometimes involve popping a few pills to get high on?

Even occasional use of stimulant Alcohol can be harmful. New research from the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine among college-age students has pointed to impaired neuronal activity in those students who use, albeit only occasionally, stimulant drugs including cocaine, amphetamines, and certain prescription drugs.

            Using MRIs, researchers investigated the brains of college students in the 18-24 age range, some of whom have used stimulants “occasionally” (an average of 12 to 15 times) and the others of whom have never used stimulants. Tests taken by the two groups while hooked up to the MRIs demonstrated an “impaired ability to anticipate a situation” on the part of the stimulant-users as opposed to the non-user group. Further, the researchers say their findings indicate that the occasional stimulant-users may be more likely to fall prey to an addiction to drugs later on in life.

Did that report jar you? Do you realize you are, or your college-age child is, potentially at risk from the casual if only occasion use of stimulant drugs? Do you want help in breaking the habit? Collator Waters at 855-972-8674.