Essay On Prescription Drug Abuse

With access to prescription drugs, people are able to treat a multitude of diseases and illnesses. These drugs help deal with pain, inability to sleep, depression, and much more. Every day we are increasingly living in a world where there is better living through chemicals. However, what most do not seem to see is the rising tide of pain, illness, and ultimately death being caused by the pills people take every day. Most keep drugs in a special place in their minds, where they see them as harmless. Sadly, this is not the case, and in some cases our prescription drugs can be just as harmful as illegal drugs (King 68).

Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription

Millions of people throughout the world are taking drugs on a daily basis. If you were to ask someone why they take prescription drugs, most people would be taking them for the right reason. However, it’s estimated that twenty percent of people in the United States alone have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.1 Prescription drug abuse is a serious and growing problem that often goes unnoticed. Abusing these drugs can often lead to addiction and even death. You can develop an addiction to certain drugs that may include: narcotic painkillers, sedatives, tranquilizers, and stimulants.1 Prescription drugs are the most common abused category of drugs, right next to marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and

Today on college campuses, it is not possible to make it through college without knowing someone who has at least tried a prescription drug or recreational drug for either party uses, to help them study and keep up in school, or simply to help them get by day-to-day. Maybe you have tried them yourself? College students all across the nation are abusing substances such as Adderall, Vicodin, Oxycontin, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc. Those students who drink alcohol are more likely to use prescription drugs for non-medical uses than non-drinkers.

When a person thinks of problems that haunt the state, mostly what comes to mind are drunk driving, the meth epidemic, or the bipolar weather, but our state has a crisis that is on the rise and catching the attention of the police force all over the state. Our state ranks high among all states with people, ages 12 and older, taking prescription pills without being prescribed them. (NSDUH) Many teens and adults can recall a friend asking them for their prescription pills or have witnessed someone taking these pills illegally. Throughout my life, there are many instances that I can recall from memory that deal with prescription pills and these instance changed or altered my life. People tend to think that prescription pills are safer than

One of the fastest growing epidemics in the United States is prescription drug abuse as reported by the DEA (Partnership for Drug Free Kids, 2013). All ages are guilty of abuse of medications, however, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (2016) reports young adults abuse these prescription drugs at the highest rates compared to all other age groups. The NIDA reports misuse and abuse is highest among opioid pain relievers, ADHD stimulants, and anti-anxiety drugs (NIDA, 2016). The use of these prescription drugs to treat a variety of physical and mental health issues is quickly becoming a top conservative treatment option. While pharmaceutical companies make extreme amounts of profit off of these physical and mental issues, young adults are increasingly taking on the consequences of addiction and overdose.

Prescription drugs are some of the most abused substances in the country. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that about 16 million people in the United States have used a prescription medication without a prescription or have used a prescription drug for a non-medical purpose in the past year. About seven million people have done so in the past month alone. These results show

Prescription drug abuse has become a major epidemic across the globe, shattering and affecting many lives of young teenagers. Many people think that prescription drugs are safer and less addictive than “street drugs.” After all, these are drugs that moms, dads, and even kids brothers and sisters use. The dangers are not easily seen, but the future of our youth will soon be in severe danger if the problem is not addressed,it will continue to get worse if action is not taken soon. Prescription drugs are only supposed to be consumed by patients who have been examined and have a medical report by a professional, more and more teens are turning to the family’s medicine cabinet to “get high” but what they are

Prescription drug abuse and misuse is becoming a major public health issue in the United

The article, Prescription Drug Abuse: An Epidemic Dilemma, explains the significant increase in prescription drugs among youths, and drug-impaired driving. The research was conducted by Robert L. DuPont (it was published in 2010); his research produces useful knowledge since raises awareness of prescription drug abuse. Although the research article displays strengths, it also displays weaknesses.

Does one know about the prescription drug abuse epidemic our country is currently facing? Prescription drug abuse doesn’t discriminate, as it affects people of all ages, races, genders, and socioeconomic status. So what is causing this Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic? A prescription drug also known as a pharmaceutical drug is used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Prescription Drug Abuse is known for being commonly recognized in developing nations, due to regulations and availability of the drugs. An article in the December 2008 issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy, "Drugs and Development: The Global Impact of Drug Use and

According to results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 2.4 million Americans used prescription drugs non medically for the first time within the past year. This statistic averages to approximately 6,600 new people per day who are taking prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them, or are not needed to treat a serious condition anymore. More than one-half of the 2.4 million people taking prescription drugs for the first time are women, ,and about a third were aged 12-17. Prescription drug abuse is highest among young adults, ages 18-25. According to the NSDUH the most commonly abused prescription drugs are opiods, CNS depressants, and stimulants.

There are many types of major drugs in use today and on the top of the list is prescription drugs. According to Drug and Society vicodin is the most misused prescribed narcotic in the United States (Glen R. Hanson, March 5, 2014). They say in 2011 was one of the prescription and most often used by teenagers (Glen R. Hanson, March 5, 2014). Vicodin associated with hydrocodone and acetaminophen it is in a class of drugs called narcotic analgesics a schedule II drug. It is used to relieve pain. It is important to study drugs in our society because of scientific developments, we now know more about how prescription drugs effect on the brain. Furthermore we know that drug addiction can be effectively treated to aid people stop misusing drugs and lead happy lives.

In the United States alone, over fifteen million people abuse prescription drugs. Due to the rise in prescription drug abuse, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have declared the abuse as a crisis. A common misconception about prescription drugs is that many people believe that they are safer than illegal drugs, such as heroin. However, prescription drugs are only safe in the doses prescribed. If taken obsessively, then the drugs have the potential to be just as dangerous as illegal substances. The most commonly abused prescription drugs are opiates, better known as painkillers, which have been readily available to abusers and requires little effort to attain. More needs to be done to limit prescriptions

There are three types of prescribed abused drugs: opioids, depressants, and stimulants. The most powerful is opioids. Opioids are used to block out pain. Some of these include opanas, oxycontin, and roxicodone, and 5.1 million Americans abuse them regularly (Drugabuse.gov). Some of those pills can cost any where from five dollars a pill all the way up to ninety dollars a pill (Drugs a-z) and could even cost more than that depending on where you live. Some of the street names can be roxy, o.p.s, oxy, and captain coden(Drug abuse.gov). ´“At the age of 20, I became an addict to a narcotic,which began with a prescription following a surgery.¨´-James. People normally become addicted to painkillers because of doctor giving them prescriptions after a major surgery.