He gets up from his seat in the living room without saying anything. A few minutes later he returns, holding up an orange prescription pill container to show the rest of the room. No one says anything, so he just shrugs his shoulders and walks into the kitchen.By the time everyone else gets there, he's got four or five short white lines spread across an old wooden table and he's rolling up a five-dollar bill.

"What is it?" someone asks.

"I dunno," he says. "What's the difference?"

In today's culture, prescription drugs have become so prevalent that they are a prominent force for treating illness, but also for drug abuse such as this.

A study conducted by the Heller School for Social Policy found that the amount of psychotropic medication (medication used for depression, anxiety and mood disorders) prescribed to adolescents rose 250 percent between 1994 and 2001.

According to Reuters, American pharmacists filled more than 3 billion prescriptions in 2002, enough to give every man, woman and child in the country 11 prescriptions at the same time.

The increase in prescribed drugs, along with the upward trend of prescription drug abuse has sparked many questions about today's "Rx culture."

Cindy Parks Thomas a senior researcher at the Heller School, along with Brandeis colleagues Prof. Peter Conrad (HSSP) and Prof. Elizabeth Goodman (Heller) recently studied on this growing phenomenon.

"We're not advocating for or against prescription medication," Thomas says of the study. "We're just saying this is worthy of attention." Thomas also points to other"alarming" statistics found within the project's research. "One out of 10 teenage boys who walk into a physicians office leave[s] with a prescription," says Thomas. "That's a big increase from what it used to be." But while Thomas believes that these results demand attention, she says she will not choose a side.

"It's difficult to know whether or not this is a problem," Thomas says. "It's hard to know if doctors are getting better at diagnosing the disorders or if they're getting sloppy."

Sloppiness, as Thompson calls it, may account for what Conrad believes to be a problem with "over- diagnoses, over-medication and overuse" among adolescents.

"I think that we've become incredibly cavalier about defining differences in people as medical problems," Conrad says. "It's as if someone says, 'I'm having a problem,' and getting medicated for it each time."

Scott Feinberg '08, a student who says he has never used psychotropic drugs, shares Thomas' indecision.

"I don't think there are any easy answers," Feinberg says, sitting back in his chair. "If I was going to be cynical, I would definitely say there are some concerning relationships between pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrists ... There should be more of a separation between the two."

Whether such an unethical relationship exists remains a question. One thing is for sure. As the pharmaceutical industry grows, companies like Zoloft and Johnson & Johnson are forced to spend their own money in order to meet the demand.

"Advertising has definitely played some role in all of this," Thomas says. "Changes in advertising regulations have made it easier for pharmaceutical companies to market their products." The changes to which Thompson referred are a series of legislation passed throughout the 1990's, such as the 1997 Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, which loosened preexisting regulations on pharmaceutical advertising-allowing companies greater access to appeal to the American public. And while the pharmaceutical industry has grown exponentially throughout this upswing in drug use, drug companies are not only ones who are cashing in.

One sophomore, speaking under the condition of anonymity, says she uses her prescription for Adderall in nearly every conceivable way, including selling it.

"Friends of mine found out that I had a prescription [for Adderall], and they told me I should sell it during says people started call me all the time. I'd get at least five or six phone calls a day from people who were looking for Adderall."

She goes on to explain that while some of the people wanted the Adderall for what she called "legitimate" purposes, such as a study aid, others wanted to use it recreationally. "I've blown Adderall four or five times. I never really liked it-but a lot of other kids do."

Abuse of drugs like Adderall may point to a greater national trend. The Heller School's study shows a national decrease in the use of illegal drugs among adolescents but found a large increase in the abuse of prescription medications.

"I do use it for the right reasons too," the sophomore says. "It really helps me a lot . It helps me get stuff done. I usually take somewhere between five and 15 milligrams a day-depending on how I'm feeling."

For the past year and a half, this sophomore has met with her psychiatrist only once every four months. It is during these rare meetings that the student, who was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) at the age of four, will be analyzed and, inevitably, have his prescription refilled.

"[The psychiatrist] doesn't seem to really care," she says. "It just seems like he's doing it for the money."

Dr. Robert Berlin, director of the Psychological Counseling Center, has a different perspective on America's increased drug culture. He said he has witnessed psychotropic medications transform from a distant subculture to a national standard, and he sees this as a positive change. Having completed his medical training at the University of Chicago and Harvard University, Berlin has been working with Brandeis for over 25 years.

"This isn't a problem, it's a reflection," Berlin says. "[It's] a reflection of our privilege." Berlin says that the United States' financial superiority has afforded it the privilege of researching and developing medications, all of which aim to "improve the quality of life," whether it be mental or physical.

"Just look at countries without this privilege," Berlin says. "They're dying at 25 from diseases like AIDS. Science has been wonderful to us . people just need to say 'thank you' once in a while. It has been proven that the distribution of [psychotropic drugs] is the best way to treat complex problems."

Berlin says that medical issues can sometimes be solved through the use of medication, whether they are mental or physical.

Conrad, on the other hand, says that there are other approaches to dealing with these problems. By "over medicating" today's youth, Conrad says that physicians are taking a shortcut to a quicker solution.

"[Medication] is taking over. Instead of exploring people's differences in the ways they act and learn," she says. "We are medicating an increadingly large group of young people. I'm sure they help some people, but can be counterproductive in other instances."

Well, What's the difference?

For some, there is none. Berlin, for example says the rise in psychotropic medication is a natural step in the longer process of medical advancement. For others, it's a problem. It is a national movement, characterized by a quick-fix mentality, leading today's youth in the wrong direction.

As for everyone else, it's still a question that needs to be answered. As Cindy Parks Thomas puts it, "If we don't find the answers, we'll never know how much is necessary.