Medication can be a tricky subject for medical school students. Med school can be a stressful time, and students are prone to stress-induced conditions like depression and sleep disorders. As you might expect, then, a lot of students use medication to help manage these conditions.
Medical schools, though, are sensitive—sometimes too sensitive—to public perception, and with the recent rise in the illegal use of prescription medication, they tend to be hyper-vigilant about who is taking what on campus.
Caribbean medical students have additional concerns when it comes to prescription medication. The Caribbean isn't a single unified country but rather many countries, each with its own laws and mores. If you're planning to study at the Caribbean School of Medical Sciences, for example, you need to know that Jamaica, where that school is located, requires you to meet special conditions when bringing prescription drugs into the country. There are also many conflicting laws throughout the Caribbean on marijuana possession and usage for both recreational and medicinal purposes.
Below, we get into some of the most important issues connected to medical school prescription drug use. The very first thing you need to know, though, is that if you should wind up in trouble over a prescribed medication, there's help available. Joseph D. Lento and his Education Law Team are dedicated to the principle that students deserve fair treatment. They know the medical school system, and they know the law. They also know just how hard you've worked to get to this point in your career, and they're committed to making sure you have every chance to earn your medical degree.
Commonly Used Medications
As a starting point, let's talk about just what kinds of medications med students tend to take. Here's a list of some of the most commonly prescribed and used drugs.
- Pain Medications: Codeine, fentanyl, oxycodone, and hydrocodone are all routinely prescribed to treat both chronic and acute pain. All of them, however, are associated with a high propensity for abuse and addiction.
- Ritalin: This medication is typically used to treat hyperactivity and behavioral disorders. However, because it stimulates the nervous system and helps users maintain focus, it has become popular among students. Its use in this context is prohibited, in part because the drug contains the stimulant methylphenidate, which can increase heart rate and blood pressure and has even caused death in some extreme cases.
- Adderall: Like Ritalin, Adderrall is used to treat hyperactivity and impulse control disorders. It, too, is highly sought after by med school students for its ability to induce intense focus. It, too, though, contains substances that, when misused, can be dangerous.
- Modafinil: Modafinil is prescribed to treat sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and narcolepsy. Its main effect is to overcome fatigue and improve alertness. Obviously, the demands of medical school make drugs like this one especially appealing to students. Once again, however, there are a number of negative side effects associated with Modafinil, including nausea, indigestion, and difficulty sleeping.
- Ambien: Finally, many students develop the opposite problem while in medical school—difficulty falling asleep. Drugs such as ambien are often prescribed to help users get to sleep and stay asleep, but many are extremely addictive and come with harmful side effects.
Medication Use and Misuse
Obviously, there are many valid uses for these and other prescription medications. Medical students, for instance, are no less prone to conditions like ADD and ADHD than anyone else in the general population. For students who suffer from these disabilities, Adderall and Ritalin serve an important function. They help to level the playing field, allowing these students to perform up to the same rigorous standards as their non-disabled colleagues. Indeed, in the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) often requires schools to allow such students access to medication.
Medical school can also induce medical conditions. The stress alone can bring on conditions like depression, trouble sleeping, and narcolepsy. In these cases, the right prescription may be absolutely necessary for helping users recover and establish healthy baselines. And, of course, accidents befall med students just like anyone else. A student who has been in a car accident may legitimately need strong pain medication.
However, when these same drugs are used for unauthorized purposes without a prescription, they raise several ethical and medical issues. A med student taking Ritalin simply to improve their test performance gains an unfair advantage over their classmates and additionally puts their own health in jeopardy.
In fact, medical schools will sometimes raise questions even about legitimately prescribed medications. The problem is that med students have easier access to drugs than the general population. It can be a relatively simple matter to convince another physician to prescribe medication for purposes for which they were not intended.
Finally, as a Caribbean medical student, you should be aware that your situation with regard to prescribed medication can be especially tricky. For one thing, not every drug is legal in every country. It's important you take the time to research your prescriptions to find out if you're allowed to take them. In addition, the Caribbean doesn't have an equivalent to the ADA. In fact, UNESCO has recently raised concerns about how disabled persons are treated in many Caribbean countries. This means you cannot take for granted that your medical school will grant you access to medications like Ritalin and Adderall even if you have a prescription.
Medical School Issues With Medication
What are the central issues that medical schools have with prescription medication, and why are they so careful about keeping track of what their students are taking?
- Legality: Obviously, one of the most important issues when it comes to medication is whether or not that medication is legal. If you're taking a prescription drug without a prescription, you're breaking the law. No school wants to be associated with criminal behavior.
- Ethics: Whether you have a prescription or not, using a prescription contrary to its intended use is a serious ethics violation. Physicians and other healthcare professionals are held to the highest ethical standards, and medical schools have little tolerance for students who violate those standards.
- Side Effects: Many drugs have serious side effects, and these can interfere with your ability to perform your duties. As a result, med schools can sometimes be reticent to let you use medication even if you have a prescription.
- Substance Abuse: Many drugs, particularly those associated with pain relief, come with a high-risk factor for abuse and addiction. Even if you've been prescribed such medication, you have to be extremely careful how you use it. Many medical school administrators are skeptical of students who take such drugs because they fear the students' use will ultimately get out of control.
- Easy Access: In part, medical schools worry about what kinds of drugs their students are taking simply because they know their students have relatively easy access to medication. Should a student develop an addiction to fentanyl, that addiction can quickly grow out of hand for the simple fact that the student has direct access to that medication.
- Thin Line Between Appropriate and Inappropriate: Likewise, schools recognize that med students are in a unique position to get prescriptions from other physicians. As a result, the line between taking medication for authorized and unauthorized purposes can easily become blurred. It is not at all unusual for a student with a prescription to be misusing the drug, which, again, creates a number of ethical issues.
- Public Perception: One of the biggest concerns medical schools have with prescription medication use is public perception. There have been big headlines in recent years about student misuse of Ritalin and Adderall. Likewise, plenty of doctors have been caught up in scandals for writing themselves prescriptions. Medical schools are hyper-aware of how the public views the medical community, and they are vigilant in preventing problems before they start.
A Word About Marijuana
Marijuana can certainly be a prescription medication. Its medical usage has spread in a number of states in recent years, and some states have even authorized its recreational use. As a result, a Caribbean student could very well arrive at medical school with a legitimate prescription for marijuana.
However, you need to be cautious about marijuana usage, even if you do have a prescription. In the US, where you'll be performing your clinical rotations, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, even when the state you are in may have decriminalized it. As a result, you are breaking the law if you use or possess marijuana, and by extension, you are committing an ethical violation.
As for a while, you are in the Caribbean taking classes, many countries in this area have extremely conservative views on marijuana. You'll want to make absolutely sure that you are not violating any laws before you use it.
What Can Happen?
We won't take time here to discuss the health consequences of misusing prescription drugs. Those are reasonably clear. However, you should know that there are also serious practical consequences should you be caught misusing medication.
- Medical School Dismissal: Prescription medication misuse is absolutely a dismissable offense. Even if you have a prescription for the drug you're taking, your school can still expel you if it believes you are abusing that drug in any way. If nothing else, it can argue that you are violating your ethical responsibilities. Keep in mind that a dismissal for drug abuse will go on your permanent record and likely prohibit you from enrolling anywhere else.
- Licensing Issues: Even if you manage to survive a charge of drug abuse and hold on to your place at school, you will almost certainly face problems when it comes time to obtain your medical license. Your records will likely reflect your charge, but even if they don't, one of the most important questions you'll be asked by medical boards is whether you have engaged in any type of misconduct.
Defending Yourself
As we've pointed out, there are legitimate uses for prescription drugs, just as there are illegitimate uses. Just because you've been accused of misusing a medication doesn't mean you're guilty. You have the right to defend yourself.
Your medical school will have a committee that reviews student misconduct. While every school's procedures are different, you should have a chance to present your case, offer up evidence supporting your innocence, and call witnesses. You may also be entitled to appeal this committee's verdict.
You don't want to take on this fight alone, though. It is no exaggeration to say that your entire future is at stake. Procedures can be complex, and you don't always have the same rights you might have in a court of law. As a result, you need someone who is experienced with education law and who has worked with medical students before. You want someone from the Lento Law Firm on your side.
An attorney can help you plan your strategy, work with you to collect evidence, suggest questions for witnesses, and help prepare documents. In many cases, they may also be able to accompany you to hearings and may be able to speak on your behalf.
What Can Joseph D. Lento and His Team Do For You?
You've put in a lot of work—blood, sweat, and tears—to make it to this point. You can't afford to let anything stand in your way now. An accusation of drug abuse or misuse isn't a small matter. If your school decides you are responsible, it will almost certainly dismiss you, and that will be the end of your career in medicine.
You don't have to accept that outcome, though. You have rights, and Joseph D. Lento and his Education Law Team are fully prepared to help you assert those rights. They know the law. They also know how medical schools operate. They've worked with hundreds of medical students to get them the justice they deserve, and they can help you to do the same.
To find out more about exactly what Joseph D. Lento and his Team can do for you, contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-555-3686, or use our automated online form.
