Prescription Drugs, Drug Addiction, Etc.

Most people are familiar with prescription medications; almost everyone has taken them at one point or another during their lifetime. Not all prescription drugs are addicting, but a large number of them are. Prescription drug abuse is a disease that has become a major problem in the United States, which affects over six-million Americans. Prescription drug abuse not only affects the individual, but can additionally have far-reaching consequences that affect family, personal health, employment, communities and society as a whole. Research has shown that at least 10% of people prescribed an addictive medication will become dependent on the medicine. Due to prescription drug abuse, states are beginning to monitor doctors who prescribe certain medications, more closely, which may scare some physicians away from prescribing helpful medications to people who truly need them.

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).

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 very same items a doctor prescribes to help people get well might be making them sick. Prescription drugs are being taken for reasons other than the ones they are being prescribed for, fueling an addiction that impacts as many as 48 million Americans ("Prescription Drug Abuse" WebMD). According to MedLinePlus, "an estimated 20 percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. This is prescription drug abuse." While a considerable amount of time, resources, and attention are focused on the problems associated with illicit drugs, prescription drug abuse is "an increasing problem," with very serious consequences for individuals, families, and communities (MayoClinic Staff). The United States Office of National Drug Control Policy claims, "Prescription drug abuse is the Nation's fastest-growing drug problem, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic." Because prescription drugs are viewed as safe due to their being part of the doctor's pharmacopeia, the same psychological, legal, ethical, and social barriers to abuse might not be present. However, prescription drug abuse creates a wide range of problems, including dangerous or lethal side effects, long-term addiction, and the dismantling of family and community

es 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. 2. Goebel, J. R., Compton, P., Zubkoff, L., Lanto, A., Asch, S. M., Sherbourne,

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

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 drug use has been rising in the past decade steadily. There are no signs of it slowing down either. In 1999-2000 people who have taken one prescription drug rose from 43.5% to 48.3%. The use of two or more prescription drugs rose from 25.4% to 31.2%. Also the use of five or more prescription drugs has risen from 6.3% to 10.7%.

One in three Americans are prescribed opioids from their doctor. Once someone is prescribed a medication and take it daily, as told to do so by the doctor, it is extremely easy to become dependent on the pills. Dependency on a drug means that the body physically craves it and may experience withdrawals when the prescription is stopped. Addiction characterizes as a mental need for the drug. The behavior changes and abusing the medication will begin.

The audience I will be addressing is parents, caregivers and school educators about the dangers of prescription drugs and how we can better educate teenagers and young adults on the dangers of abusing them. There are many ways that we can teach and educate our teenagers and young adults, but it’s important that families, schools and communities are involved. The rate of prescription drug overdose among teenagers and young adults have sky rocketed over the past several years. This has become a growing epidemic and if we don’t step in and do something, this problem will only get worse. No parent or caregiver ever wants to lose a child and it can be especial harder knowing that you could have helped prevent it. Some people

Those who abuse prescription drugs put themselves at a much higher risk for cardiovascular and respiratory failure, seizures, stroke, and other physical and mental health problems to name a few. The health problem outlined in this paper is the adverse reaction of non-prescription drugs with alcohol or other illicit drugs among college students, which puts them at increased risk for the previous stated health problems. This paper does not focus on one particular prescription drug, but a number of common drugs that are readily available to the general student

The purpose of this paper is to assess the issues that arise from heroin and other opiate abuse, how the US government is combating it, and what effects these policies have in Afghanistan, the world’s supplier of opium.

Although prescription drugs are more regulated than over-the-counter medications, prescription drug addiction does still occur. This is somewhat surprising considering you'll need a prescription from a doctor, dentist, or optometrist for the medication.

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.

One of the most misused type of drugs in the US is the misuse and abuse of Prescription Drugs. It is estimated that 52 million people in the US have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons at least once in their lifetimes. Out of those people 20 percent of them were aged 12 and older. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) did a survey in the year 2010 that found that 1 in 12 high school seniors reported past-year nonmedical use of the prescription pain reliever Vicodin and a 1 in 20 reported abusing OxyContin. It is now 2017 less than ten years from the initial report and the numbers of high school seniors abusing prescription drugs has doubled.