OSU conference targets prescription drugs abuse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A conference this week at Ohio State University seeks to stem what officials say is a growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse on campus.

Kenneth M. Hale, an assistant dean at OSU's College of Pharmacy, tells the Columbus Dispatch that college students are increasingly turning to prescription stimulants, sedatives and painkillers to cope. A survey says roughly one out of four college-age students has illegally used prescription drugs.

More than 100 people from 27 campuses, including about a dozen from Ohio, have signed up for the conference in Columbus where they hope to develop strategies to take back to their schools.

Hale says that because the average age for starting prescription drug abuse is around 21, it's critical that the nation's schools do more to prevent it.