Narcotics Impairing The Mind Of The User

To illustrate the magnitude of the research problem and provide a frame of reference, this section begins with a brief overview of the increased use of pharmaceuticals and prescription drug abuse in the US. The section continues with the relationship between illicit drugs and prescriptions, adolescents’ abuse, personal and social factors; then concludes with the theoretical approach. The Social-Ecological Theory, will be applied in researching prescription drug abuse, possible influences and protective factors in adolescents in relation to prescription drug abuse, to develop focused intervention strategies and educational programs for this population, similar to other substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana.

Narcotics Anonymous is a support group program that assist in helping individuals, men and women, into recovering from drug related issues that affect a person mentally, physically, and emotionally. This type of program helps individuals who are drug addicts to stop their use, urge, and to overcome their drug addition issues. Narcotics Anonymous support group is known to be present worldwide in several locations that offers their assistance to drug addicts to recovery. Some individuals in this support group acts as “sponsors” helping the person he/she is sponsoring to remain drug-free. This support group not only pertains to individuals with drug related issues assisting others with the same problem, it also welcomes family members as additional

National Institution on Drug Abuse on Research and Report series Heroin stated that “[a]fter the initial effects, users usually will be drowsy for several hours; mental function is clouded; heart function slows; and breathing is also severely slowed, sometimes enough to be life-threatening. Slowed breathing can also lead to coma and permanent brain damage” (National Institute on Drug Abuse 3). This side effect is also can be seen as like soma in which the person drifts off to sleep for long periods of time. Including that both drugs take effect very quickly. Both soma and heroin have another major flaw it shortens the users lifespan. In a journal posted on Jama Network “Contribution of Opioid-Involved Poisoning to the Change in Life Expectancy in the United States, 2000-2015” stated

This Research Project will be on the effects of Prescription Drug Abuse, and the affects it can have on the lives of those abusing them. In the report I will go into further details on the difference between what it means to be physically dependent to prescription drugs, and what it means to be addicted to the prescription drugs. Questions will be left to ask as to why there are so many overdoses to prescription drugs, and what ages groups are more likely to abuse them What can we do to stop the easy access there is to most of these drugs? How do most of these prescriptions become so easily abused and What can the adverse side effects be? Out of 52million people 20% of those aged 12 and older have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons, many would say it is because of them been so easily accessible, but I would argue and say it is because nowadays many of the younger generations are following what they see on t.v such as

This week I chose to further explore the article Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction: Past, Present and Future: The Paradigm for an Epidemic written by P. B. Hall MD, DABAM, AAMRO, Denzil Hawkinberry II, MD, DABA, Pam Moyers-Scott, PAC, MPAS, DFAAPA as more and more individuals are abusing and becoming addicted to prescription medications. The article provides a great amount of statistical data for the US but is primarily focused on the population in West Virginia where Governor Joe Manchin III states, “Substance abuse affects a broader segment of West Virginia’s citizens and their state and local governments than any other single issue confronting us today” (Hall, Hawkinberry, II, & Moyers-Scott, 2010). West Virginia is far from the only state facing the prescription drug epidemic as it is becoming more and more prevalent across the US each year. “It is estimated that in 2009, the number of adolescents and adults with a substance abuse and/or dependence problem has reached 23.2 million in the US” (Hall, Hawkinberry, II, & Moyers-Scott, 2010). In the past, addiction has been thought of as the disease of the weak, but with advancement in brain imaging technology to accurately measure neurotransmitters addiction is now recognized as a disease. Prescription drug abuse and addiction has enormous socioeconomic costs in the areas of medical expenses, drug related crime, and unemployment. “Current estimates of the financial burden to society due to substance abuse exceeds half a

Illegal opioid drugs, such as heroin and legally available pain relievers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone can cause serious health effects in those who misuse them. Some people experience a euphoric initial response to opioid medications. It is common that people misusing opioids try to intensify their experience by snorting or injecting them. These methods increase their risk for serious medical complications, including overdose. Other users have switched from prescription opiates to heroin as a result of availability and lower price. Because of variable purity and other chemicals and drugs mixed with heroin on the black market, this also increases risk of overdose. Overdoses with opioid pharmaceuticals led to almost 17,000 deaths in 2011. Since 1999, opiate overdose deaths have increased 265% among men and 400% among women.

Drug abuse in America is at an all time high across the country. Most people start out with a legit medical issue that leads to a prescription for pain, anxiety, stress, or even trouble concentrating. After repeated prescriptions, the body tends to get use to the medicine, with then leaves the body craving more. In fact, prescription drug abuse is the highest drugs abused my both men and women. Research shows that young adults ages 18 to 25 are the prime abusers of prescription drugs, ADHD drugs as well as anti-anxiety drugs. There several reason why this age group abuse these types of drugs. The reasons include getting high, to feel good, better study habits, stress, and weight loss.

Prescription drug abuse is an ongoing problem in rural teens. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggests that 13% of teens between the ages of 12-17 have experimented with nonmedical prescription drugs at some point in their lives. Researchers have identified several factors linked with nonmedical prescription drug use such as their school enrollment status, history of depression, and a two parent household presence (Gever, 2010).

Despite efforts to decrease the number of deaths and overdoses related to narcotic medications, such as OxyContin, and minimize the number of people illegally obtaining them, the measures that the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) in specific are taking are not enough. The literal definition of a narcotic is a drug that produces numbness or stupor; often taken for pleasure or to reduce pain; extensive use can lead to addiction. Narcotics are normally prescription medications that are given to patients to help ease the constant pain cause by cancer or other long term illnesses.

“Prescription drug abuse is the use of a medication without a prescription, in a way other than as prescribed, or for the experience or feelings elicited.” Prescription Drugs are ranked number two in drugs abused (Volkow 7).

Before we can solve this issue we need to fully understand what the problems are. A drug that once freed us from pain might now become the root cause (Scharff and Taite). Your body learns to build up a tolerance to the medication and then you can no longer get the relief you need. Then causing you to need more and more medication to get the same effects, which contributes to becoming addicted (Scharff and Taite). When you abuse prescription drugs you are doing incredibly terrible damage to not only your mental health but you are harming your body greatly. The medical consequences range from, chronic migraines all the way to a heart attack. More serious effects are lung or cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer, mental disorders, long-lasting changes in the brain “Addiction and Health”. Less serious

Prescription drug abuse can lead to addiction, over dose or even death. More and more people are dying each day from drug overdoses. The use of the prescription drugs in the wrong manner can result in several different life altering side affects. Between the three main types of prescription drugs used the side affect can range from repertory failure, seizures, brain damage, extreme weight loss or even death. Our bodies were not designed to take these drugs in such a way. The body becomes dependent on the drugs and withdraws cause serious and painful side affects. The brain creates certain chemicals to help us deal with pain whether it’s mental or physical, and the abuse of prescription drug throws everything out of whack. It’s ironic how something that is designed to help us can also destroy us. (Prescription)

Since their development, Opiate painkillers have proved invaluable in the healthcare industry. The need for analgesia has been prevalent since the beginning of time itself and opium has been used as early as Ancient China and fought over in wars such as the Opium Wars. More modernly, this substance has been synthesized for potency and purity in achieving the ultimate pain reliever. It exists in drugs today such as OxyContin, Norco, Percocet, morphine, Dilaudid, Opana, and Demerol. In addition to relieving pain, these medications also produce euphoria and bind to opiate receptors in the brain which contribute to the development of forming an addiction. Opiate Addiction only grows as an issue in the United States due to its availability and lack of knowledge regarding addiction on behalf of patients receiving pain medication. This is why finding an effective cure or treatment to opiate addiction is imperative. Individual treatments for opiate addiction such as replacement therapy, rehabilitation, and support groups are flawed by themselves, however, in combination provide the most effective treatment for opiate addiction.

Opiates imitate physical chemicals in the body that are expected to calm individuals during times of stress and also help to overcome pain at times of injury or illness. When a person takes an opiate the drug links with the brain’s opiate receptors, causing a calming effect that relaxes and eases physical pain. When taken at doses higher than medically necessary, opiates produce a strong feeling of euphoria, overflowing the brain with feel-good neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which activate the reward and pleasure pathways in the brain. This makes the use of opiates pleasurable while also reinforced the behavior, causing the individual to associate the taking of high doses of opiates with strong feelings of physical pleasure. Just

Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disorder which produces compulsive drug seeking and use. The abuse of drugs leads to changes in the function and structure of the brain. Consuming chemical substances to achieve pleasure or euphoria The most commonly abused classes of prescription drugs according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse include opioids used for chronic pain; central nervous system (CNS) depressants used in anxiety and sleep disorder treatments; and stimulants, such as amphetamine among others, utilized to treat attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy.[4]