The Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis

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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. Drugs cause an overall disturbance in a subjects’ physiological, psychological and emotional health. “At the individual level, drug abuse creates health hazards for the user, affecting the educational and general development of youths in particular” (“Fresh Challenge”). In youth specifically, drug abuse can be triggered by factors such as: a parent’s abusive behavior, poor social skills, family history of alcoholism or substance abuse, the divorce of parents or guardians, poverty, the death of a loved one, or even because they are being bullied at school (“Drugs, brains, and behavior”) . In certain circumstances, the consumption of drugs might have had originated because of a psychological disorder that needed drugs in order for t... ... middle of paper ... ... 2013: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 06 Dec 2013. "New Data Show Rise in Prescription Drug Abuse." Targeted News Service (USA) 11 Apr. 2011,: NewsBank. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. "Fresh Challenge Against Drug Abuse." allAfrica.com 11 Apr. 2011 , NEWS: NewsBank. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Gwinnell, Esther, and Christine Adamec. "drug addiction." Health Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. "drug addiction." Health Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 20 Jan. 2014 "Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction." Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Feb. 2007: 1-30. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. Kahn, Ada P., and Jan Fawcett. The Encyclopedia of Mental Health. 2nd ed. New York: Facts On File, 2001. Shannon, Kari. "Domestic Violence Detection at St. Catherine's." Chicago HealthCare, December 1991.

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