When people hear of prescription drug abuse they think of people that do not have a prescription using the drug for other reasons but this is not always the case. People that get a prescription, may abuse it by misuse of selling them, or by over use. Many different types of prescription drugs are very addictive and used out of control. They can have some serious effects on a person.
Why does so many people abuse prescription drugs? Some will say it is safer than street drugs since it is FDA approved. Is it because prescription drugs are easier to get a hold of and sometimes cheaper? Some believe it is safe for them to consume because it was given to them by a Physician. That is not the case many Doctors have given out medication because the patient will come in knowing what symptoms to say to get what they need. In today’s time, it is so easy to run to the doctor and get some sort of prescription drug. It does not take much to get one, most doctors today do not even try to find the main cause to the problem they just write a prescription and send a person on their way. This is a one major problem that leads to abuse of prescription drugs. Why would someone want to take something if it is not going to help them with the main problem? So the person is not getting help on what could be causing their problem, but given something to ease the problem. As soon as the medication wears off, the problem is back. Of course sometimes it may help in fixing the problem but in most cases it does not. So some may wonder, why America is so addicted to prescriptions. It is a combination between doctors prescribing the medication that is not needed, and the people that get prescribed it abusing it whether it is selling them or over using it themse...
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...ptions can do to one’s body. It messes up the way the brain functions. When using prescription drugs long term, it can cause the body to become physically dependent on the drug. So if a person was to try to stop they would experience withdrawal symptoms. Some drugs increase the levels of dopamine neurotransmitter in the brain that control the pleasure. Other drugs like depressants, when becoming addicted to them the body gets immune and begins to need larger doses to get any effect from the drug. The depressants slow down the brains activity causing it to get out of control if a person was to stop, which then can lead to seizures and other problems.
Prescription drug abuse is a rising problem in the United States among all ages. It is time, the people find ways to prevent it from getting worse. Which could start by keeping records of the drugs a person has already.
The United States of America accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet as a nation, we devour over 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical medication and around 80% of the world’s prescription narcotics (American Addict). The increasing demand for prescription medication in America has evoked a national health crisis in which the government and big business benefit at the expense of the American public.
More than often, American’s argue that if we have the technology to gain access to these “miracle meds”, then we should take advantage of it. To receive an opposing view, the National Institute of Drug Abuse asked teens around America why they think prescription drugs are overused, and the results were shocking; 62%: “Easy to get from parent's medicine cabinets”, 51%: “They are not illegal drugs”, 49%: “Can claim to have prescription if caught”, 43%: “They are cheap”, 35%: “Safer to use than illegal drugs”, 33%: “Less shame attached to using”, 32%: “Fewer side effects than street drugs”, 25%: “Can be used as study aids”, and 21%: “Parents don't care as much if caught”. I believe the major problem here isn’t the medication, but instead the fact that our nation is extremely uninformed on the “do’s and dont’s” of prescription medication. When “the United States is 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 75 percent of the the world's prescription drugs” (CDC), there is a problem present, no matter the reason. Clearly, many critics believe the breathtaking amount of pills we consume in America is simply for the better good, but tend to forget the effects that are soon to follow.
Typically, almost everyone in the world has taken drugs at some point in their life. Whether it be over the counter medication or prescription drugs. People get sick, they have illness, allegories, sexually transmitted diseases or other aches and pains. As you may already know, there is medication for each aforementioned problem. This is called drug use, which is using drugs for its intended purpose. However, the real dilemma happens when people began to misuse and abuse drugs.
Almost everybody on Long Island, and probably all around the world, has been prescribed a drug by a doctor before— whether it was to knock out a nasty virus, or relieve pain post injury or surgery. However, what many people don’t realize is that these drugs can have highly addictive qualities, and more and more people are becoming hooked, specifically teenagers. But when does harmlessly taking a prescription drug to alleviate pain take the turn into the downward spiral of abuse? The answer to that question would be when the user begins taking the drug for the “high” or good feelings brought along with it—certainly not what it was prescribed for (1). The amount of teens that abuse prescription medications has been rapidly increasing in recent
Drug addiction doesn 't result from medical use and it is supported as well by Sees & Clark (1993). The drug brings optimal treatment to patients who are in pain. Gilson et al. (2004) also advised that its effects are predictable due to medical purpose and removing it may cause an unacceptable harm to a patient. Addiction and misuse of opioid medication depends on the period of usage. As according to Compton & Volkow (2006), the longer the drug is exposed to an individual, the higher the possibility for development of addiction as well. The access as well nowadays for the drug is openly easy for the public. There have been occasions that physicians are no longer needed for the prescription of the drug; hence it becomes an illicit drug. In recent studies the frequency of analgesic misuse or addiction ranges from 5% to as much of 50% of different
Prescription and pharmaceutical drug abuse is beginning to expand as a social issue within the United States because of the variety of drugs, their growing availability, and the social acceptance and peer pressure to uses them. Many in the workforce are suffering and failing at getting better due to the desperation driving their addiction.
In the United States, health insurance has been a way to cover insured individuals medical cost. The coverage of insurance depends on the type of health insurance plan an individual has. Each insurance plan varies, and one of the coverages that insurance plans offer is prescription drugs. The cost of prescription drugs, depends on which health insurance plan you have. If an individual does not have health insurance, paying for a prescription drug will be an out-of-pocket cost and cost will vary for those who have health insurance. One of the issues that have been arising in the United States is Prescription drug usage. Many patients are abusing their prescription health insurance coverage and it is affecting their health come. Some of the prescriptions
Prescription drugs do not always cause addiction, but a specific group of prescription narcotics can increase dependency on the medication and cause a severe addiction. For many people that become addicted to prescribed medicines, it changes their life forever. Prescription drugs are equally as dangerous as street drugs, if not more so. High powered pain relievers are safe if taken properly, but some people pop multiples a day which can cause coma and even death.
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. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
Many people today view alcohol and drugs very differently than how they were portrayed years ago. In earlier years, there were not that many drugs that were used to save lives as the several different types of drugs that are used today. Today there are drugs used for different treatments for all kinds of diseases. Drugs are a business in which makes billions of dollars, both legally and illegally. Society views drugs majority of the time as something for saving lives, helping society for the better, but many don’t realize the millions of lives it’s destroying. Substance abuse from alcohol, illegal drugs to over the counter drugs and cigarettes can go from a casual once and a while thing to becoming an addiction. Substance abuse can be a huge gateway to addiction that can escalate very quickly. A lot of the time we convince ourselves that people chose to do these drugs so frequently, that addiction is a willing option they do to them-selves. Substance abuse and addiction are more than an individual problem it is a social issue.
Drug abuse encompasses anything from habitual intakes to a lethal consumption of drugs. These substances cause a lot of damage to the body, both physically and mentally. Usually, drugs are used as a way to relieve oneself
Use of these substances over the long term results in dependency. Your body develops a tolerance, resulting in the need for a higher dosage. Some users mix different opioids, while others increase their doses.
One of the questions researchers ask is; why do people abuse and misuse prescription drugs? knowing that abusing drugs can get them killed and that those drugs are highly addictive. “Prescription drugs were involved in 82% of the 384 overdose deaths investigated by the Victorian coroner's court in 2014”.Doctors knowing that these prescription drugs are the cause of most of the deaths by overdosing, so why are they still prescribing them? And another question researchers ask is how do people get there hands on prescription drugs, if there not being prescribed to them.
Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.
Drug abuse is defined as the excessive use of medication or substances which are either legal or illegal without the prescription of a physician. While some drugs are legal, overdosing is considered as drug abuse as the medicine is only healthy and helpful when taken in the required amount with the permission of a doctor. Other forms of drug abuse entail the use of substance that is either discouraged by healthcare association or illegalized by authorities. The users may use the drugs in order to feel a rush of energy or appear calm than normal. Drug abuse is a problem that affects the users, their close relatives and the society they live in (Barnard, 2007). There are different types of drugs that are abused ranging from extremely