Recreational Prescription Drugs

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.

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

This is not much of a surprise since the rate of teen and children opioid users are on a continuing rise in the United States (Mills para 1). Per Pannoni’s article “High Schools get Frank with Teens on Heroin Epidemic”, the rate has nearly doubled since 2002 (Pannoni para 1). Alcabes use his personal high school narrative to show that it is not uncommon for students to use opioids/psychoactive medications to help them throughout the day. The normal acceptable usage is shown in Alcabes himself while abusive use is shown in his classmate who raids his parents medicine cabinets every morning before school. This opioid epidemic is a problem for children and adults. According to Curtis Mills in his article “opioid Epidemic takes a toll on U.S. Children, teens”, most poisoning among teens result from accidental overdose but some have been a suicide attempts and that teens use opioids to get high like any other recreational drugs they use (Mills para. 6). Alcabes tries to explains what addiction is as well as explains the multiply other issues that come along with

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,

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 make patients more comfortable, repeatedly increase a drug’s dose, inadvertently increasing risk. Furthermore, although opioids can be dangerous experts believe that patients using opioids are at a lower risk when patients are monitored closely to make sure they are still benefiting from the drugs in terms of pain relief and physical function.

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,

One of the fastest growing epidemics in the United States is prescription drug abuse as reported by the DEA (Partnership for Drug Free Kids, 2013). All ages are guilty of abuse of medications, however, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (2016) reports young adults abuse these prescription drugs at the highest rates compared to all other age groups. The NIDA reports misuse and abuse is highest among opioid pain relievers, ADHD stimulants, and anti-anxiety drugs (NIDA, 2016). The use of these prescription drugs to treat a variety of physical and mental health issues is quickly becoming a top conservative treatment option. While pharmaceutical companies make extreme amounts of profit off of these physical and mental issues, young adults are increasingly taking on the consequences of addiction and overdose.

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)

Teens are chugging cough medication for an instant high. What is so appealing to them about it is that is it cheap, legal, and accessible. They think it’s the safer way to get high and have ”fun”. However, it’s a lack of education that has landed many teens in this situation because they simply don’t know or understand what it could do to them (Joseph,2015). It is important that we reach out and make an effort to bridge this gap by educating parents and children. Most households contain some type of OTC Medication and any of those can be abused or misused. We need to address preventable incidences that exist in thousands of households through out America. It is something we need to start talking about or else we are going to face losing more and more young lives everyday (Gupta, 2015). A study was done on the perception of OTC Medication. The results of that study are truly astounding. The study found that individuals referred to these medications as “just over-the-counter” or “not real pain medication”. These individuals used this as a way to reduce the harm of OTC Medications, which, is wrong. The study stated, “Justifying one's use of OTC medication as minimal and “normal,” regardless of intake, avoids association with the addictive potential of prescription pain medications and aligns the identity of the chronic pain sufferer”. The culture that is present involving OTC

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.

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 usage of drugs is a very common practice in our society nowadays. The usage of drugs can vary from medical purposes to recreational purposes. What is drugs? ‘A drug is any chemical you take that affects the way your body works.’ (Science Museum, What is a drug?, n.d.) So this does not mean that drugs can only be in the form of pill, tablet, oral solution, and injection drugs can also in the form of tobacco that contains nicotine, or drinkable substance such as coffee and tea that contains caffeine and beer that contains alcohol. (Crocq, 2003) For some people nowadays recreational drugs already become a way of life.

Most teens when introduced to pain medications will see the affects and want to recreate them at any cost necessary. It is said that the worse thing that person can do is abuse the pill, and have them work for them because they will want it more and more. The opioids are highly addictive as they are classified as a class two drug by the FDA. The pain medication is used to subdue pain and can be used to get a “high” that is very

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.

Officer Reynolds informed this writer that many of the teens he has came in contact with have informed him thatAccording to a report from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, approximately one in five teenagers have abused a prescription painkiller and one in 11 has abused OTC products (Gara, 2005). Officer Reynolds also spoke about the different parties these teens have with the different drugs they are able to obtain. He stated they have “skittle” and “pharm” parties and who knows what else. This writer asked Officer Reynolds