U.S. & World

Teen Misuse Of Prescription Ambien On The Rise

DALLAS (CBS) ― A health warning about the latest craze on the party scene. People are getting high -- not on an illegal drug or a prescription painkiller -- but on one of the most popular sleeping medications in this country.

Ambien is the best-selling prescription sleeping pill in the United States. Doctors wrote more than a quarter million prescriptions for it last year alone.

But the government is concerned that some people, including kids, are abusing this little pill. They say it makes them high and even black out.

"I'd fall over. I had blurred vision, weird hallucinations," said one student.

It's a party drug with street names like "a-minus" and "zombie pills." College kids who did not want to be identified, say these pills are something they're seeing more and more on campus.

Ambien abusers say they get high by fighting off the effects of the drug and forcing their bodies to stay awake.

"You start to trip out a little bit," said one student. "They're obviously really out of it."

While the DEA says Ambien is safe when taken properly, this growing abuse has the agency on high alert.

"We're hearing about this, we're seeing a rise. That is a concern," said Special Agent Steve Robertson.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is concerned too. The agency reports the number of teens misusing sedatives has nearly doubled over the past decade. In a recent survey, one out of 14 high school seniors admitted to taking sedatives without a prescription last year. And when it comes to higher learning, Dr. Wilson M. Compton said, "We've heard the same thing, that Ambien and use of sedatives is a problem on college campuses."

One reason for the jump: experts say these pills are easy to get from online pharmacies or friends willing to share.

"There's this misperception that if it comes from a doctor or comes from a pharmacy that it must be safe. And that's just not the case," said Compton.

"The medicine, when it's abused, can be dangerous," said Dr. Richard A Friedman.

How dangerous? Dr. Friedman has studied prescription drug use and teens. "If you pass out and lose consciousness when you're taking too high a dose, you might sustain a head injury and a permanent brain damage because of the fall," said Friedman.

"In addition, people that drink heavily and take sedatives are much more likely to have respiratory depression. That means they stop breathing," Compton said.

Doctors also warn that abusers could suffer from memory loss and blackouts. The DEA says that opens the door for date rape. "People still do things, they just don't remember it. And that's where people can take advantage of them," according to Robertson.

While one of the college students we spoke with says she feels fortunate that never happened to her, she admits having little memory of her nights on the drug. "My friends would tell me that they found me wandering around campus and I wouldn't remember a thing."

She's stopped misusing Ambien and is now wide awake to the dangers.

The makers of Ambien and they could not provide any information on the drug's misuse. They say their policy is to only comment on issues related to the drug's approved use as an insomnia medication.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)