Prescription Stimulant Abuse Essay

Nearly five years ago, Kyle Craig, a well-rounded and bright student at Vanderbilt University, took his life at the young age of 21. Kyle was described to be a “confident, but not arrogant” young man. He had a solid 3.5 grade point average and was extremely active in his fraternity. His parents said he was, “…a thrill a minute, focused, happy, achieving and social” (James). Kyle, in short, seemed to have it all together. What no one knew is that Kyle illegally looked to Adderall to keep up his “I’ve got it all together” act. Adderall is a stimulant prescription drug for those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD (FDA). Kyle took Adderall illegally and abused it much too often just to perform better academically and socially. While abusing the drug, Kyle slowly began spiraling into a dangerous state of psychosis that no one seemed to catch on to. That dangerous spiral led Kyle all the way in front of a train, taking his own life (James). Kyle is not the only young college student to suffer from the effects of stimulant or amphetamine drugs like Adderall. Almost 1,000 cases of psychosis were found to be linked to medications such as Adderall or Ritalin between the years 2000 and 2005 (FDA). Stimulant and Amphetamines are also known to heighten or produce suicidal and depressive thoughts (FDA). With all of these unsettling facts, 1 in 5 college students abuse these drugs and use them as study aids (CBN News). For the last

My thesis statement is that recreational drugs are bad and good for you. It is also lot better for a recreational drug to be legal than keeping it illegal. Doing recreational drugs is bad for an individual health and bad for the society’s health has a full population. It leads to lot of other health issues, mentally and physically. Recreational drugs are addictive and would make the individual become addicted. Addicted would lead to lot other problems and sickness. Using recreational drugs through sharing of needles would spread diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Making the recreational drugs legal would do more good to the poplution as a whole. Making it legal would means loss of profit for the drug lord and drug cartel. Which would

Some of the most commonly abused substances, that can cause serious psychological and physical side effects are stimulants. Substance abuse has been a problem in the United States and many other countries for a long time, stimulants are one of the biggest problems that the United States faces today. One specific drug that is abused is crack and crack cocaine. By examining the history of stimulants such as crack and crack cocaine, it 's connection to crime and violence will be revealed.

Contexts 10, the prescription of a new generation, discusses the increasing prevalence of psychostimulants, through the use of prescriptions and illegal methods. In the eight years between 1990 and 1998 the number of prescriptions of Ritalin increased a five-fold (Hartmann and Uggen, 2012). In addition, the use of unprescribed Ritalin and other psychostimulants has also increased, as up to 25 percent of college students per campus have reported using non prescribed psychostimulants (Hartmann and Uggen, 2012). Since, doctors and other medical professions across the world haven’t been able to create a concrete diagnoses process, it would be easy to blame the high prevalence of psychostimulants on unreliable diagnoses.

Arria, Amelia, Ph.D. "Nonmedical Use of Prescription Stimulants What College Administrators, Parents, and Students Need to Know." Center on Young Adult Health and Development, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.

7 out of 10 College students on campuses say that it is easy to collect stimulants without a prescription according to a survey done on eight U.S. campuses. 18% of freshmen and undergraduates tell of misusing prescription stimulants mostly Adderall. Most of the students get them from their friends and most of them say the usage of the drug is to help them to stay up to study or improve grades. One in four undergraduates report that they use pain medications, sedatives, or stimulants for the expirementopposite of medical reasons. The (HECAOD) conducted a survey which included 3,918 students which attended six public schools, and two public colleges and Universities in 5 different states. This survey included undergraduates, and professional students. ⅓ of all of them said it’s easy or extremely easy to obtain on multiple campuses.

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.

"Prescription drugs are the number-one drug problem that we face today," says David Rotenberg, executive director of the adolescent treatment center at the nonprofit Caron Foundation. "They are more widely prescribed, more widely available, and more widely abused by adolescents than they have ever been before."(DiConsiglio, 1) Abuse of prescription drugs is one of the fastest growing problems for young adults in the U.S. today. It is a concerning problem because of prescription drug’s widespread availability and little known negative side effects. Prescription drugs are being abused by many young adults and college students. This research

Seven out of 10 college students say it is pretty easy to get stimulants without a prescription, according to a new survey conducted on eight U.S. campuses. A majority (83 percent) received them from friends and most said they used the drug to help them study or improve their grades. Overall, one in four undergraduates reported that they used prescription pain medications, sedatives or stimulants for nonmedical reasons in their lifetimes, said Anne McDaniel, author of the study and associate director of research and data management at The Ohio State University's Center for the Study of Student Life. One in four undergraduates reported that they used prescription pain medications, sedatives or stimulants for nonmedical reasons in their lifetimes.

Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription

Amphetamines were first introduced in 1932 and were originally sold as drugs for nasal congestion that came in the form of an inhalant or tablet (Abadinsky, 2014). These types of drugs were the go-to for just about any health issue (Abadinsky, 2014). In the 1930s and 1940s, amphetamines were used medically as treatment for “schizophrenia, morphine addiction, low blood pressure, and caffeine and tobacco dependence” (Abadinsky, 2014, p. 216). Toward the end of the 1940s, the drugs were eventually used as stimulants, also known as analeptics (Abadinsky, 2014). Back then, amphetamines were available without a prescription, therefore anyone could purchase the drugs without a doctor’s permission, and that is how the popularity of the drugs began across the globe (Abadinsky, 2014). Governments,

Since last review one month ago, I note Alison has recommended an evening dose of Ativan and she has not been aware of any parasomnia sounding episodes overnight. Her daytime somnolence persists, although she is keeping herself busy during the day, including babysitting her grandchildren and thus is not typically having daytime naps.

Uppers are stimulants that at first build vitality and readiness. These are the world's most generally utilized psychoactive medications. Some give a serious surge while others are just gently animating. Inaba, and Cohen (2007) these drugs are strength by cocaine, caffeine, and nicotine. Stimulants can bring about extreme wellbeing issues when they are mishandled. It is the fast improvement of resilience and the disturbing impact on cerebrum science that empower waste and enslavement. Inaba and Cohen (2007).

Psychologist Ellen Pastorino, a Professor of Psychology at Valencia College, states the 2012 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study on teens that demonstrates, “20% mistakenly believe that pain relievers are not addictive, and almost a third believe that prescription medications have fewer side effects than street drugs” (Pastorino, 149). Interestingly, administration of psychoactive medication is a valuable technique of treatment for ailments, but irresponsible use of these substances by patients can lead to addiction. Misusage of psychoactive substances is alarming to medical doctors and psychologists since it can cause physiological, and psychological distress, decreasing overall wellbeing. Additionally, any patient can possibly develop an

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