The reality of drug abuse in American culture has fueled FDA restrictions and reforms for decades as more information on drug availability, distribution, and side effects is released to the public. A trending topic that has gained publicity in the past months is the rate at which doctors prescribe opiates. Drugs such as Percocet, OxyContin, Vicodin, and Roxicodone are synthesized medications that doctors prescribe for the relief of pain associated with anything from a dental procedure to cancer. Since 1997, when prescription pain medication began advertising campaigns on broadcast television, opiate prescriptions have risen 500 percent. In 2010 alone, there were enough prescriptions to medicate every American adult with painkillers around the clock for a month (Courier Post). The FDA was able to recognize the effects that flooding America with opiates had produced, and subsequently pressured pharmaceutical companies to reformulate their versions of the opiate painkillers. When Purdue Pharma, the producers of the widely-prescribed OxyContin, made their pills harder to crush and then snort or inject in 2010 (Bloom), it was assumed that the change would only bring about good in the future years in terms of opiate abuse.…