Prescription Drug Abuse Essay

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

The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such.

Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the growing problem of prescription drug abuse, some common drugs that cause abuse, and their effects and some common treatments.

This was a vicious cycle then and still is a vicious cycle now. With doctors handing out prescriptions, such as opiates nonchalantly to patients that have minor conditions such as a pulled muscle, it is more than likely fueling drug abuse like gasoline to a fire. Although, if someone has ever had to receive medication that requires more effort than grabbing it off of the convenience store shelf, realize that pharmacists now cannot legally distribute prescription medication without one 's’ personal prescription. The Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drugs in North America also notes that Vicodin and Xanax earn the title as two of the most commonly prescribed drugs distributed by doctors and also reside as the most commonly abused prescription drugs in United States.

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.

Prescribed medication has become one of the top three leading drugs used and abused by teenagers in America. According to Elizabeth Larsen, “The Centers for Disease Control classifies prescription drug abuse as the worst drug epidemic in United States history” (Larsen p.4). This is the worst drug epidemic in history because of the percentage of teenage usage. Based on different studies, pills are the most commonly abused drug among twelve- and thirteen- year olds because of how easy they are to access. In fact, many teens that abuse prescription medication has admitted that they, even with a substance addiction, still receive prescriptions from their doctor. The teenage usage of prescription medication could be prevented with better

Signs, causes, and risk factors for drug abuse should be something everyone looks for. “Signs of prescription drug abuse include: stealing, forging, or selling drugs, excessive mood swings, poor decision making, and continually “losing” prescriptions to get more” (“Prescription” page 2). “Causes of prescription drug abuse are: to feel good or get high, relax or relieve tension, reduce appetite or increase alertness, maintain addiction/prevent withdraw, acceptance from peers/be social, or improve academic performance” and is

The first being dependent patients who may be intentionally or inadvertently misusing their medications. Although this group may have genuine pain problems, some patients have become dependent as they rely on the drugs to improve how they feel or difficulties trying to cope with challenges in their life. Inadvertent dependence can arise from various reasons such as inappropriate prescribing, limited health literacy, poorly formed medication instructions or lack of communication by health care providers. The second group that abuses pharmaceutical drugs are those who use these medications for non-medical purposes. These individuals may be obtaining the medicines for self-treating purposes, personal recreational use or to trade on to others who abuse

The United States has a had an excessive increase in the number of individuals who have abuse the prescriptions that are being prescribed by providers. Due to this increase amount prescription abuse, there has been a large amount of overdosing of deaths that have occurred. It has reached a concern to many individuals because it has reached wide-ranging levels and it needs to be evaluated. This analysis will evaluate and provide examples of how many people are abusing the prescriptions. As well as examining why our country has unsuccessfully discussed this alarms to the public.

Even though people need their prescriptions, the abuse of them is getting out of control and we need to find a way to regulate it better,because it can destroy a family, cause some to become addicted, or even kill them. Prescription drugs are no joke, they can be worse than illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and even heroin. The only difference is a doctor can prescribe these types of drugs. The problem we run into with prescription drugs is there is not enough being done to keep the person from becoming addicted or them selling to others. In 2007 2.5 million Americans abused just painkillers (Drug free world). That is not even including the other two types. Now it is starting to affect teens, one out of every ten teenagers admit to abusing a prescribed drug(Drug-free world).

Prescription medications have improved the overall well beings of patients worldwide with many new drugs hitting the market in the past decade. These drugs which are prescribed by the general practitioners and specialist to treat various ailments were diverted and abused by people leading to the inception of a drug epidemic that prompted centre for disease control to declare the condition as a “public health epidemic”, under its priority projects. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 15.1 million people in the US abuse prescription drug which is 50 times higher than heroin (Fischer, Rehm, Patra, & Cruz, 2006; Joseph A. Califano, 2005).

Drug use in America is one of the major issues we face and the problem has skyrocketed over the past three decades. Heroin and painkiller addictions exceed all other countries. It is important that we address some of the causes that lead to the abuse, how to treat the abuse, and how to prevent the distribution of illegal prescription drugs.

Now that we know all about Pharmacists, let's get to know the problem: prescription drugs. Some prescription drugs have mind-altering affects on the body, and for that reason are abused. People abuse drugs by taking them for reasons other than prescribed by the

Teenagers usually between age fourteen and eighteen are abusing prescription drugs more often. Some of these teenagers have no desire and no thought in their head to stop abusing prescription drugs. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update says, “OxyContin abuse dropped among twelfth graders from 5.5% in 2005 to 4.6% in 2006. However, there have been no similar declines in eighth to tenth graders” (8). Rates in younger teenager OxyContin abuse have no declines at all unlike older teenage groups. It is not only one group of teen and it is not only one group of medications, it is multiple teens using multiple kinds of prescription drugs. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter gave results from a survey including the following, “18% of teens reported abusing Vicodin”, “1 in 10 reported using OxyContin” and “1 in 10 teen has tried the prescription stimulants Ritalin and/or Adderall without a prescription” (4). These results

     After reviewing the case study provided it is very evident that Matt has a substance abuse problem. He is a college student who is struggling to find a sense of belonging. He spends a great deal of time alone worrying about the financial burden he is placing on his family. His mother currently reported concern with Matt’s drinking habits, because her husband is a recovering alcoholic. His friends and roommate are suspicious about his use of alcohol and possibly even other substances such as cocaine.