Recreational Prescription Drugs

Teenage Prescription Drug Abuse 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

The amount of individuals who die annually from accidental overdose is extremely unnerving. One of the biggest issues the world is facing in the 21st century is prescription opioid and illegal drug abuse. Unfortunately, this lethal dilemma is not publicized in the media as much as other things such as celebrity drama, cancer prevention, or the newest fitness craze. The notorious opioid epidemic is in full swing and has effected individuals from all religions, cultures, and genders. Although it may seem like a collective issue, adolescents are in the most danger.

Drug abuse Suicide, Anxiety, Anger, Depression and constant disobedience can all be a part of drug usage. Along with brain damage and lung damage. Countless teens around the world use drugs for social advantages.The United States represents 5% of the world's population and 75% of prescription drugs taken. 60% of teen

Introduction The use of street drugs among adolescents is a serious health problem in the United States and is the primary health risk behavior that contributes to unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide, which are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children between the ages of 12 and 18 years (Patnode et al, 2014). Even when used infrequently, the risks for serious adverse effects increase due to behaviors of those intoxicated or impaired. There are numerous reasons as to why adolescents choose to experiment with various substances, including family structure, media exposure, socioeconomic status, or simply the desire to fit in. Whatever the cause is for each adolescent, it is important to apply early intervention and prevention in order to avoid the need for further specialized treatment for substance abuse.

Opioids are causing deaths of children of all ages, and it is due to the “carelessness and callousness” of parents. The way the children/teens are getting the drugs is from a parent/guardian not taking proper precautions to hide their prescription drugs. Now, due to the little to no access teens have to prescription drugs, teens have upgraded to street drugs. The effect opioids have on children is much greater than mental health, “according to an analysis of discharge papers collected every three years from a representative sample of pediatric hospitals nationwide, 13,052 children were hospitalized for poisonings from opioid prescriptions. Of those, 176 died.”(Washington Post)

Opioid pills flood the body with chemicals to give the user pleasure and pain relief (Triffin). To many, these drugs seem safer than other drugs. However, this is far from the truth. Right now, the opioid epidemic is the fastest growing drug problem (Volk). Teens’ young age makes them especially vulnerable to addiction. John F. Kelly, Ph.D, associate professor of psychiatry in addiction medicine at Harvard Medical School explains, “The brain is in a critical and vulnerable period of growth during adolescence.” Kelly added that “early exposure to drug misuse increases your risk of addiction by 5 to 10 times, independent of other factors” (Triffin). Simultaneously, studies show that when rewarded, teens’ brains have a strong reaction. This, combined with the impulsive nature of the teen brain means that teens are attracted to thrills. These weaknesses are manipulated by drugs, as observed in animal research. Young rats tend to work harder than adult rats to get drugs, which implies that the teen brain is more attracted to drugs. The thrill of taking a drug is pleasing to teens (Teen Brain Vulnerability Exposed). In fact, When someone takes a painkiller,

Gunnar Monical Professor Greg Murray EGL 101-13 17 March 2017 Pills aren’t Thrills In the hectic pill-popping world we live in today, around 6.5 million people in the U.S. currently abuse prescription medication and out of those 6.5 million, 4.5 of those people abuse pain relievers according to Nova Science Publishers (Greer). Codeine, oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax just to name a few of the favorites among abusers (Fahey and Miller). These medications can end up on the streets and in the hands of party-goers looking for a “good time”. Dangerous pills such as those listed above can be quite useful by people with authentic medical conditions such as anxiety and ADHD, but also have the power to be abused by teenage party goers that crave a

It might be surprising to many but over the recent decades there has been an increasing amount of opioid use among adolescents. Thus, increasing the likelihood of addiction and recently it has become a major health care epidemic. Pursuing this further, such problems often occur because well-meaning doctors, eager to

Opioid exposure and use in the United States is increasing among adolescents. McCabe and associates (2017) specifically examine medical and non-medical opioid use among adolescents. Monitoring the Future study provided the data that was used. Forty cohorts of high school seniors ranging from 2181 to 3791 participants were administered in the form of paper-and-pencil questionnaires in the student’s classroom setting. Results demonstrated among adolescents that claimed to have use both medical and nonmedical consumption of prescribed opioids indicated that medical use of opioids began before nonmedical use. Prescribing patterns of physicians need to be examined to aid in alleviating medical use of opioids from progressing to nonmedical usage.

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.

Drug abuse is the habitual taking of addictive or illegal drugs. Many college students rule out prescription drugs because they feel that they are neither addictive nor illegal. Prescription drugs are both. Not only are they addictive to the people that are required to take them, but also they are even more addictive for students who they are not prescribed to. When prescription drugs are obtained without consent from a doctor, it is considered illegal. Many college students try to take short cuts in life without realizing the extent of the consequences that their actions may hold.

Puerto Rico, in recent months, has been involved with the decriminalization of drug possession. Nevertheless, this is a topic that not everyone is in favor of. According to a group of lawyers that know about this situation, establish that the Controlled Substances Act, in article 404 violates the Puerto Rico Constitution, the law and the applicable right. It also considers that it is a cruel punishment, that it violates human dignity and the right to rehabilitation.

As humans, it is natural for curiosity to rome amongst our minds. We are intrigued by various substances and objects, in which we have a great desire to experience and gain more knowledge about. Unfortunately, some of these desires supercede us when experienced, leading to great consequence. Although marijuana is slowly becoming legal in multiple states across the country, it is still considered a psychoactive drug. Thus, it is deemed unsafe to drive while under the influence of this substance. Driving under the influence of marijuana can lead to impaired motor skills, dilated pupils, and slowed reaction time (Volkow, 2014).

Recreational drug use by students in post-secondary institutions has been a troubling epidemic for many years in North America. Recreational drug use can be hard to track because many people who use drugs recreationally do not consider themselves drug users. Therefore many of these users become invisible to most research that involves drugs and the use of them. The term recreational drug user refers to someone who uses drugs to get high for reasons other than for a medical condition. Substances that most commonly fall under the recreational category are marijuana, cocaine, and MDMA. Even legal substances such as nicotine and alcohol can be considered recreational drugs.

It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.