Prescription Drug Abuse Summary

Introduction to Prescription Drug Abuse: Opposing Viewpoints highlighted the case of Michael Jackson’s drug overdose on prescription medications. Michael Jackson overdosed due to a combination of anesthetics and sedatives in his system. His doctor was enabling and facilitating his addiction, and, as a result, was charged with involuntary manslaughter (2013). The legal outcome of drug addiction not only affects the individual abusing the drugs, but can affect the practitioner if they are at fault. In the film, Sarah’s doctor acted in a similar way to Michael Jackson’s, ignoring both his better judgement and her consultation about the hallucinations and other side effects that she was experiencing from the amphetamines (Aronofsky, 2000). The doctor’s over-prescription in conjunction with her inability to withdrawal induced Sarah’s

A few of them include taking larger amounts of the drug over time than originally intended, unsuccessful attempts to reduce or control use, spending a large amount of time seeking the drug or recovering from it, reducing or eliminating important life activities, and continuing use despite recurrent physical or psychological problems that are likely to be intensified by drug use (4th ed., text rev.; DSM–IV–TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). During one scene in the film, Sarah took two pills at once against the advisement of her doctor’s prescription to take each one at predetermined times throughout the day. This is an example of how she abused the drug in the sense of taking more than necessary. Harry’s abuse of heroin also began to control certain life activities such as visiting his mother. Furthermore, they both continued to take the drugs despite experiencing increasingly negative effects that ultimately lead to deterioration of their physical and mental