Here are a few of the ways people abuse prescription and over-the-counter drugs:

  It’s the end of the semester and you’ve been cramming, preparing for your finals and finishing your papers. Your body is demanding sleep, but your professors are expecting you to deliver. Your roommate offers you one tablet of Ritalin — only four hours’ worth if you swallow it whole — but if you crush and snort the pill in small doses, it will last all night.

  Your best friend is a karaoke master and all she wants for her 21st birthday is a karaoke birthday party. You’re not much of a singer, but you know it’s going to be a long night. You figure the only way to keep things interesting as a spectator is with a little Dextromethorphan (DXM), the active ingredient in some cough medicines. DXM can have mind-altering effects if taken in large quantities, so you buy some cough suppressant at the pharmacy — at least you’ll be entertained with full-spectrum hallucinations during your friends’ bad Madonna renditions.

  It’s the last night before school starts up again after the Fall break — everyone’s back, but no homework yet. You want to start the semester well-rested. So instead of partying all night long, you decide to kick back with a friend and watch a movie. You all decide to round out a mellow night with a few beers and Percocet, left over from last summer’s knee surgery.

  Your girlfriend brings you home for Thanksgiving to meet (and protect her from) her family. The annual event is notoriously stressful — including an historic blow-out between brothers-in-law. In preparation for the big dinner, she offers you a couple of her Ativan to take the edge off the event so you can enjoy your turkey and stuffing. You rationalize it, thinking that holidays are a stressful time and at least with Ativan you won’t have a nasty hangover.