Prescription Drugs And Its Effects

We trust doctors to ensure us the drugs given to us is safe, but the video says otherwise. Alex Sugerman, a attorney, describes the issue behind certain doctor offices accepting the drugs offered by the sale representatives. Sugerman states, “ pharmaceuticals sale reps are not there to consult the doctors of the harm the medicines are going to produce...they are there to sale a product and not to give a public service announcement.” The drug industry is a very profitable, so companies are willing to do whatever it takes to get the most sales. Since drugs are readily accessible, just like anything else, the use of drugs are abused. Most of us are getting free health insurance, which mean free drugs. When there is free drugs on the line; everyone takes advantage of the free drugs. Ever heard of “the best things in life are free?” Everyone complains about how expensive an item is, but when the item is free there is no complaint. And since drugs are free, we tend to abuse the drugs to aid with our daily problems. The drug industry is just another outlet for people to have another way to cope with certain situations/problems in

The Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned education, research, and health facility estimates that over 70% of American rely on at least one prescription drug to treat some form of medical condition. In reality, many of these people rely on multiple prescription drugs to sustain their lives, like drugs to reduce their high blood pressure.

In a society that has become acclimated to the ideal of instant gratification, it comes as no surprise that some 29,000 Americans a year die due to opioid overdose (Gupta). In the eyes of modern medical professionals, prescription narcotics have become the miracle drug, an across-the-board cure for pain. However, when it comes to the patient, what is initially used to ease chronic pain quickly becomes as imperative as breathing. According to a study done by the American College of Physicians, within less than 299 days, 91% of patients who overdosed on opioids were able to receive another prescription (Larochelle et al.). In such cases it is no longer the patient who is to blame, but the doctors who selfishly push these drugs without considering

“America's public enemy number one in the united states is drug abuse.” (Nixon) Heroin struck the U.S in the late 1960s, causing the U.S. to spend billions , shockingly the majority of addicts being white. Statistics show that 4 in 5 heroin user started off my misusing prescription drugs. Thousands in the U.S began by taking prescription drugs, such as painkillers containing opium. America was fiercely losing against the war on drugs and the harsh laws were seem to be a mistake. New York city was the first to struggle in the late 1960s with crime and drug addiction. Almost 200 people died due to heroin overdose, alone in 1970. The state tried numerous approaches, but the crime continued. Therefore, in 1971 president Richard Nixon declared war

For some people, drugs are a part of everyday life. Drugs are what allow them to be able to walk around in the mornings with no ache, or comfort the pain of a recent surgery, or help and individual cope with anxiety or stress; however, the same drugs that are used to bring enjoyment into one persons life can bring destruction into another. This has become a major problem in the U.S. and all over the world as well. In a recent survey, thirty different clinics, spread out over five urban areas, reported that thirty-six percent of admitted patients has admitted to the nonmedical use of prescription drugs over the past year (Brown, Chaitkin, 1981); consequently, prescription pain killers have lead to more deaths that than heroin and cocaine combined (CDC, 2013).

Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in today’s society. Prescription drug abuse is taking medicine prescribed for someone else, for another purpose, a larger dose than prescribed, in a different way than one is specifically prescribed. (“Prescription Medline” par. 1). This includes using a prescription to get high by crushing, snorting, or injecting them (“Prescription Medline” par. 4 and 5). By using these methods to put them into the body, it gives a stronger high than by just consuming it (“Signs of Painkiller Abuse & Addiction” par. 2).

The video and article is great at giving insight to the epidemic of prescription drug abuse. Many believes that they won’t be addicted to prescription drugs. However, all it takes is one time. The first time someone tried an opioid drug is the time overpowers their life. The video is absolutely right that even healthcare providers who potentially know how addictive prescription pain medication can be hooked on it as well. Healthcare providers who are addicted to prescription drugs no only put themselves at harm, but are putting others at harm as well. For example, the video mentioned that there were a few employees from hospitals that inject themselves with syringe full of opioid indented for the patient then replaced with other substances.

An example would be when people mix alcohol and Valium. This combination could stop breathing altogether.

Many prescription drugs taken orally are absorbed in the small intestine. The amount of medication that reaches the bloodstream depends on how much is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract.

In the early 1900’s pain medication came about to help those who were injured. As time went on, prescription pain medications started to spiral downhill. The prescription pain medication has been the worst drug epidemic in the United States. Over the course of years, it has become more and more of a problem destroying lives. There has been a huge increase in the amount of pain relievers sold, prescription drug misuse, and prescription drug abuse causing an alarming crisis in the United States. Pain medications such as opioids have killed more than half a million-people due to overdose. Numbers have quadrupled, taking thousands of lives. Prescription pain medications do not discriminate against race, age, or demographics, it can happen

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).

The most dangerous factors about prescription pain medications are how easily addictive they are because just about anyone may become reliant and their usage may ultimately being turned into a gateway drug creating a spiraling downfall for so many people. Andrea Garcia from the journal of law, medicine and ethics says, “prescription painkiller overdose has reached epidemic proportions over the last decade[…]nonmedical prescription painkiller use cost health insurers up to an estimated $72.5 billion annually in direct health care cost” (Garcia 2, 3). This demonstrates how easily prescription pain medication is to access and how uneducated users are of how expensive it is along with their long term health effects like mood swings or being unaware of their surroundings. When being prescribed pain medication, the risk of addiction is severely high. Out of the millions who abuse prescription drugs you may come across addicts who survived long term illnesses now suffering with addiction, users who steal prescription pads to feed their need or even sober individuals who fall into addiction after a traumatizing event in life. From that information anyone can become reliant on prescription drugs in a blink of an eye. Not only are painkillers dangerous by themselves, but they also are a gateway to many other disastrous drugs. Drug and Alcohol Review studied the non-medical use of painkillers and the desire to try new drugs. They concluded that while studying different cases, Jake a 29 year old heroin injector started using oxycodone since 2007, Jake explains, “I’ve never been prescribed OxyContin or anything but I feel that I need it sometimes”(2). This shows that prescription painkillers are not only easily accessed but it opens that gate to exploring with new and very harmful

As with most drugs, a tolerance can be obtained with chronic use and eventually addiction. The difference with LSD, however, is that if administration is ceased for a period of days, the downregulation of the 5-HT2A receptor is reversed and normal function is restored. This indicates that physiological effects of the drug are only temporary and abstinence from use will reverse whatever process have been done. Furthermore, studies have shown that the addictiveness of LSD is on such a low scale that it is considered as being non-addictive. Because the effects of LSD only last as long as the drug is present in the blood stream, combined with the fact that the receptors naturally return to their original state and are ultimately unaltered by the interactions with LSD, indicates that the relative physical danger of LSD is low compared to that of other drugs. The aspect that makes LSD a dangerous drug is the altered state of mind that the individuals possess. Without clear cognitive thoughts and rational, users are prone to either formulating dangerous situations for others or entering perilous situations themselves. In relation to the relative harm of the drug, a comparison was done involving the social harm, individual harm, and dependence of a group of drugs including heroin, cocaine, LSD, cannabis, alcohol, and others. The results of this comparison depicted the dangers of LSD to be lower than the majority of the listed drugs; of the three categories of harm, social harm was

At least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals deposit into the drinking water waterways in the United States. (Donn) Pharmaceuticals find their way into the water through either unintended or direct disposal. In unintended disposals, medicines occur by ingestions and later excretions. In direct disposals, individuals discard unused medicines. The medicines, not often disposed of properly, end up in the water supply. Next, the water, containing discarded, unused medicines, flows to a waste disposal site intermingling with ground water and then tap water. Numerous research supports the reduction of direct and indirect pharmaceutical footprints by the improvement of treatment facilities. This research states, “Advanced wastewater treatment

“Would you believe that prescription medication abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States? Prescription medications are now second only to marijuana as the "gateway" of drugs first abused. Alarmingly, six of the top 10 abused substances among high school students are prescription drugs (Sprenger, 2012).”