Prescription Drug Abuse

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.

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

) Discuss the public health impact of opioid misuse and abuse, including costs related to healthcare and criminal justice costs. Opioid drugs are valuable medications in treating acute and chronic pain that cannot be managed with nonopioid therapy, but inappropriate prescribing can cause serious harm. Taking higher doses or a combination of short-acting and long-acting opioids are likely to be abused and can also cause serious dose-related adverse effects that can include death. Opioid abuse affects the community and families in some way. It can lead missed work and sometimes it can be a problem keeping a job. Therefore, it is important that we obtain medication history to give us a picture of the patient pain medication history. While opioid

Prescription drug abuse is a problem that is not just focused on adults. There has been a substantial rise in prescription drug abuse among teenagers. Teens are abusing prescription drugs for a number of reasons, including to get high, pain treatment, and/or because they think that it will assist them with school work (Coalition against Drug Abuse, 2014). However boys and girls tend to abuse some types of prescription drugs for different reasons. For example, boys are more likely to abuse prescription stimulants to get high, where girls would abuse them to stay alert to study or for weight loss.

Appalachia is a cultural, highland region of the southeastern US, containing the Appalachian Mountains, extending from Alabama up to Pennsylvania (CDC, 2010). Given its hallmark high poverty, low educational attainment and geographic isolation, the Appalachian region is a vulnerable priority population at a heightened risk for prescription drug abuse (CDC, 2010). As previously alluded to, the burden of opioid abuse and overdose deaths is substantially higher in Appalachia than other areas of the U.S. Since 1996, an increasing number of programs have provided the opioid antagonist naloxone hydrochloride, the method of choice to reverse the potentially fatal respiratory depression caused by overdose of heroin and other opioids (CDC, 2010). Community coalitions, law enforcement, concerned friends, families and good Samaritans alike have each asserted that naloxone’s virtually untapped potential to save lives is enormous. Adding further standing, naloxone is on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) model list of essential medicines and is described as, "a safe drug with a low risk of serious side effects" and that "any adult capable of learning basic life support can also learn to recognize an opioid overdose, and administer naloxone in time to save lives." Another benefit is that naloxone is extremely cheap; available at less than $2 a dose in many countries

Medicine has been around for thousands of years and has diversified and given us many options to treat illness or pain. Some are available as over-the-counter drugs that can be purchased almost anywhere and others require you to get a prescription from your doctor in order to get it. Some of these drugs that require a prescription often help people who deal with chronic pain, those who are at the end of their life, or cancer patients. Unfortunately these drugs, although helpful to those who need them, are being abused by millions of Americans every year. With doctors prescribing ludicrous amounts of prescription drug, sometimes when it is not even necessary, and our lack of knowledge on the subject, prescription drug abuse has become a big

Fleary et al. (2010) explores the degree to which prescription and non-prescription drug abuse among minors with the misguided insight that their use is safer than the illegal drugs. Through an online survey, the researchers collect data on the issue and correlate with specific variables such as community stigma, apparent risk and the access to the drugs. The authors discover a positive correlation. This study will aid in gaining an in-depth understanding of the exact nature of relation between community stigma, apparent risk and the access to the drugs to drug abuse in the society. It will serve as viable literature in identifying the various ways and procedures to limit and observe the access of these drugs to adolescents.

Prescription pain abuse is one of the fastest growing addictions in the country. Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin have replaced some street drugs. I think that the abuse is the patient's fault but in a way it is also the doctor’s fault. The doctor’s are the ones to prescribe the medicine.

Prescription drug abuse is a modern-day disease. In an estimate, over six million American have abused prescription medication. However, there is no completely accurate way to measure this abuse. The number of people who have died is important, but the fact that many people suffer from addiction to prescription drugs is. Negative effects such as torn apart families, destroyed lives, and deaths are all results of Opioid overdoses. The question is why do people take opioids and what are they? According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse “Opioid are drugs formulated to replicate the pain reducing properties of opium. They include both painkillers such as morphine, oxycodone, or hydrocodone prescribed by doctors for chronic pain, as well

As of 2012, overdose deaths involving prescription painkiller abuse, have increased to almost 17,000 deaths a year in the United States (CLAAD.org). A pain killer is a drug or medicine for relieving pain. It is estimated that 2.1 million people in the United States abuse painkillers. This is a growing problem in the United States, but who’s fault is it really? Prescription painkiller abuse is very dangerous and is the fault of the consumer and the physician.

For this week’s essay, my topic is prescription drugs, drug addiction, etc. Prescription drugs are just as bad as illegal drugs in my opinion. Once hooked on them a person can possibly die, be scarred for life, or hurt their brains which could affect the way they live. Having an addiction controls you and when you are controlled by something as strong as some prescription drugs, your life is in danger. I think one of the main problems is that doctors give these medicines out to easily. They aren’t cautious enough to who they give them to. The more patients are prescribed the more they will feel they cannot lie without them and get hooked on

Narcotics are an extremely powerful drug. Narcotics are used to relieve pain. When they are used properly they reduce anxiety, relieve pain, and induce relaxation. If you use and abuse narcotics, then you result in an addiction. Narcotics produce a powerful feeling of euphoria, which is why they are so addictive. “Narcotic” is believed to have been coined by the Greek physician Dalen to refer to agents that numb or deader, that causes loss of feeling or paralysis. Four example of narcotic drugs are heroin, morphine, codeine, and hydrocodone.

Illicit drug use during pregnancy is a problem with potentially serious irreversible effects for the mother, fetus and extending to the developing child, however there are solutions to help eliminate or improve this epidemic such as education, assisted programs, rehabilitation, or prosecution. What are illicit drugs? Illicit drug addiction may be one of the most dangerous types of addictions. In general, illicit drugs are those that are illegal to make, sell, or use. They include cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, and hallucinogens. Health Professionals consider abused prescription medications, alcohol and tobacco, all drugs, even though these ones are legal, they are mind altering, addictive, and are considered dangerous to a fetus (www.healthline.com).

Drug use has it’s place in all parts of the culture that was built in the United States whether it may be in sports, music, medicine, social norms, and even recreational use. Everyday things like Coca Cola use to have cocaine inside of the product to make the soda more addicting to the consumer. Athletes adopted different drugs as a means of enhancing their performances in their prospective sports as well as using them as a means to stay healthy throughout their season and to recover quicker . Musicians sometimes used drugs as an inspiration to write new music as well as recreationally to have fun. This created the stereotype that all rockstars use some form of hard drugs. As well as the stereotype of the meathead jock who juices up everyday before a big game.

For the research on drug use and societal or natural disaster, there is various findings on drug users' lives, before and after disasters. This paper gives a broad explanation of their trauma & stress, housing life styles, and health risk during times of disaster. These topics show the studies on people whom partake in drugs such as Crack/Cocaine Heroine on the day-to-day basis. The researched for this paper worked with the usagers directly to affect the health of those in these situations.