Preview

Essay On Prescription Drug Abuse

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1117 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Prescription Drug Abuse
Prescription drug abuse is a modern-day disease. In an estimate, over six million Americans have abused prescription medication. However, there is no completely accurate way to measure prescription drug abuse. Many people suffer from addiction because of certain doctors’ carelessness in writing prescriptions. When doctors’ are caught intentionally over prescribing abused medications, they are typically the punishment for their crimes is very small. Young adults are also beginning to abuse prescription drugs by illegally purchasing them from the prescription holder and using them as study or party drugs. Prescription drug abuse has torn apart families, destroyed lives, and has even resulted in death. Some people think that by focusing on prescription …show more content…
Past year abuse of prescription pain killers now ranks second-only behind marijuana-as the Nation's most prevalent illegal drug problem." Use of prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription or only for the experience or feeling they cause is commonly referred to as "nonmedical" use. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, approximately 363,000 emergency department visits in 2007 involved the nonmedical use of pain relievers (including both prescription and over-the-counter [OTC] pain …show more content…
Sometimes people become addicted to painkillers and then start abusing them. Some even lie to their doctors to get more medication. A few of the drugs being abused are barbiturates, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, and appetite suppressants. If people are not careful, overdose of these drugs could kill them. Even though there is little coverage of prescription drug abuse, it is continually happening. It can and does affect many in various ways. Sometimes doctors, dentists, or pharmacists are involved in illegal drug trafficking. However, if caught they receive small sentences. Young adults are also at risk for prescription drug abuse as students are using them as “study drugs” or “party drugs”. As we begin to see the effects of addiction, we need to be careful so we don't abuse or misuse prescription

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The high rate of opioid prescription brings many problems to the healthcare system, including the nursing profession, the health of individuals, their family, and their community. Many people have the perception that these type of drugs can do no harm to them, when in fact when it is misused, it can bring many problems and do more harm than good.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Substance abuse in the United States has changed over the years, and comes in many forms, such as prescription pills, non-prescription pills, powder cocaine, crack-cocaine, meth, heroin, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol. Today, there are advertisements sending out messages about how drugs can harm an individual, their families, and their future. There are people who admit to doing drugs, and there are those who do not want to admit doing drugs. Many cultures use drugs for medical reasons or for religious purposes. There are also health and social problems that occur when doing drugs or addicted to drugs.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lately, there seems to be a fine line between helping patients and curbing drug abuse. Since doctors seemed to be under prescribing painkillers, they eventually were urged to use the medicine that they had to help the patients feel better. This seemed to have gotten out of hand in the last ten to twenty years. Matt Berry says, “Although prescription drugs are necessary and lifesaving in many circumstances, the correlation between prescription drugs and prescription drug addiction is undeniable”(Are Doctors to Blame for Prescription Drug Abuse?). Doctors are aware of this alarming correlation and should have been…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    First, the addiction to and demand for prescription medications is growing every day, because people are in pain; whether it is a hip replacement, back pain, or a toothache. Another reason is because people want to escape the realities of life; such as, divorce, losing a job, help with depression, or to simply elevate boredom. According to Volkow (2010), “The three broad categories of psychotropic prescription drugs with liability include opioid analgesics, stimulants, and central nervous system (CNS) depressants”. The most addictive of these medications are opioid analgesics, which would be OxyContin and Morphine. Opioid analgesics are prescription medications used to treat individuals with moderate to severe pain. The second most abused prescription medication would be stimulants, which are medications such as Ritalin and Adderall, and are used to treat individuals with attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy. The last…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Numerous individuals expect that they may get to be dependent on prescription drugs for medicinal conditions, for example, painkillers recommended after surgery. Be that as it may, individuals who take conceivably addictive medications, as recommended, don't frequently mishandled them or get to be dependent upon them. There are numerous contributing components when mishandling a recommend drug. Any past or present addictions to different substances including tobacco, and liquor can likewise are a danger component. It can be hereditary; there is research for family history of substance misuse issues. More youthful age clients, for example, patients or as right on time as 20s aren't substantial grown yet and may not handle the medications while in their bodies. Having simple access to professionally prescribed medications, for example, having prescribed drugs in cupboards at home, having no knowledge and/or recognizing what the medications can do and how they can hurt…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Increasing abuse of prescription drugs among teens can be attributed to psychological, environmental, or behavioral conditions.Drug abuse in teens can be linked to other disorders or conditions which lead to drug abuse. Teens who abuse drugs are likely to become adults who abuse drugs. It is necessary to understand and address these underlying issues if successful prevention is to happen. First it is necessary to understand the magnitude of the problem…

    • 2923 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to www.drugabuse.gov, it is estimated that fifty two million people with at least twenty percent being twelve or older, have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons at least once in their lifetimes. Some of the more commonly known drugs include Adderall, prescription painkillers and Xanax. These are the medications I will be researching and informing about, but there are definitely a lot more than three. Many people are prescribed and use these drugs as directed by a professional, but many also don’t. Adolescents often share or sell their medications to those who are not prescribed, and have no other way of receiving them. Constant misuse can lead to many health problems, and in extreme cases even death. Besides the abuse,…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prescription drug abuse is a fast-growing, nation-wide epidemic in the United States. Although millions of Americans receive medically prescribed drugs for their illnesses, which is considered legitimate usage, abusing prescription drugs means either a) someone is taking prescription medication that were not prescribed to them or b) someone is taking prescription drugs in a manner the drug was not intended for or is taking too much of the recommended doses. Common examples of such abusive behavior include people who take prescription medication for recreational purposes or people who are under heavy emotional distress and use drugs to relieve the pain.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drug abuse has affected many families and households. Some families have family members who are addicted to prescription drugs and other members of the family are not aware. Twenty percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for non-medical purposes (U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d.). Prescription drug abuse is continuing to increase because some people think that it is fine to take prescription medicine when not needed because the doctor prescribed the medicine. Some people think that prescription drugs are less harmful and not easily to be addictive. Other people…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    According to USATODAY.com, in a 2005 survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, “19% of U.S. teenagers – roughly 4.5 million youths – reported having taken prescription painkillers to get high. Prescription drug abuse is on the rise, the reason for this is because it is so accessible.” Because today’s teenagers can obtain prescription drugs easier than they can illicit drugs, more teenagers are experimenting with prescription drugs than ever before. In fact, studies show that prescription drugs are teens’ choice of drug to become high.…

    • 1644 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prescription Medications

    • 608 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Prescription drugs are the second most commonly abused category of drugs such as heroine, methamphetamines and crack cocaine.” McBride, H (April 2009). Prescription drugs can become addictive when not used in the manner in which they are intended when they are prescribed. Anti-Anxiety medications such as Xanax and Vallium are the most commonly abused medications, along with pain killers such as Hydrocodone, Roxycodone, Oxycodone and Oxycontin. Even medications that are being prescribed for ADHD, most commonly Adderall, are being abused by people that do not actually have ADHD. The effect of taking this medication is the same as methamphetamines. “Estimations of nearly 20 percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.” The National Institutes of Health (April 2009). The rate of the recreational use of prescription medication is growing everyday in the United States. It does not affect one age, ethnic or social group. It is a problem that is plaguing families of all types in our country and it is a problem that is not as emphasized as the abuse of illegal drugs. It is just as important to educate people on the severity of the possibility of becoming addicted to prescription drugs.…

    • 608 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prescription Drug Abuse

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the United States, easy access to prescription drugs such as sedatives and pain medications is posing a major threat, especially drug abuse and dependence. The nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs (NMUPD), which is the same as using drugs without a prescription, and it is very common among young adults. For instance, drugs such as sedatives, opioids, and stimulants are commonly misused by adolescents simply for the experience or the feeling. The nonmedical use of prescription drugs ranks as one of the most common drug problems in the United States. However, the rate of misuse has slightly declined in recent years. The victims of misuse are mostly young teenagers who don’t have much information…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Prescription Drug Abuse

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Prescription drug abuse is the use of a prescribe medication is when you take them any other than instructed by your physician, which will usually lead to addiction. Addiction to prescription drugs typically create problems in your personal, work, and family life. This abuse is usually caused by taking prescribed medication too often, non-prescribed medication to relieve your pain, or non-prescribed medication to relax or "get away". One of the causes of prescription drug abuse is when the patient takes his or her pain medication more often than they are prescribed for. The physician that you see prescribes pain medication with specific directions to the patient on how often and how much medicine they should take. However, even if the patient intents to follow the physician’s direction they may take the pain medication more often if the pain is persistent. Eventfully, this will lead to the patient becoming addicted to the prescribed drug and possibly other drugs.…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Prescription drugs are accessible. They are more accessible than illicit drugs. You can find then in the cabinets of any home you walk into. Because so many people use prescription drugs, sometimes on a daily basis, adolescents and others may have this idea that prescription drugs are safe to use. People abuse these prescription medication because they may have heard that a certain drug may help them lose weight, or even help them concentrate which will help them study better. There are a variety of ways to obtain prescription drugs that are not prescribed to them. According to Hamilton (2009), in the rural areas of the Midwest, 16% of students said they have been approached to sell or trade their medication. In a survey composed of over 9000…

    • 204 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Today the National Institute on Drug Abuse has established a number of information sources to monitor and track drug abuse trends in America. These information sources include but are not limited to the Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF), and the annual monitoring of illicit drug, tobacco, and alcohol abuse survey known as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010) Among the concerns of illicit drug use, Americans also face numerous problems in relation to the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, also referred to as medication. The prescription drugs by the names Vicodin and Qxycontin have been reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse to be the most common abused medication currently in society. According to the Monitoring the Future Survey taken in the year 2009, both prescription drugs Vicodin and Oxycontin have shown an increase in misuse and abuse over the past five years of recorded trends. The majority of these top prescription abusers have been reported within the age group of Americas high school students (10th – 12th grade). (National Institute on Drug Abuse. 2010)…

    • 1415 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays