Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription drug abuse is one of the leading health problems facing the state of Oklahoma right now. In 2012 the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotic reported that 534 residents died from prescription drug overdoses and over half of those were from medication prescribed by their own doctors. Over the last five years abuse of prescription pain medication has increased at an alarming and shocking rate in Oklahoma. Narcotic pain medication is the desired drug of choice for many of our residents, causing a higher than average number of deaths by drug overdose. The state must find out what drugs people are seeking and where they are getting the these drugs while offering steps to make getting them harder and providing mental health and addiction service to those who are addicted.

Many people may consider prescription drug abuse not a true drug problem. They equate illicit street drugs like marijuana, heroin, cocaine, crack that we commonly hear about being drugs. Since pain medication is prescribed by a doctor, many feel that is not a drug but just a medicine. Although that may be partially true, when that medication that the doctor gives you is used too much or given to someone who the doctor never saw; that is prescription drug abuse. According to American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the U.S. consumes 80% of the world’s pain medication while only having 6% of the world’s population.

Addiction to prescription pain medication is the overwhelming desire to seek and take more of the prescribed medicine for the recreational use rather than the intended medical purpose. The opiates in pain medication causes change in the brain in which it causes the user to need it for the feeling of euphoria rather than the relief of pain. Some...

... middle of paper ...

...eed by giving the addict a feeling of self-worth.

Works Cited

American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians." American Society Of Interventional Pain Physicians. Web. 30 April 2014.

CRC Health Group.crchealth.com/addiction/prescription-drug-adiction-2

Kazzi, Antoine A., and Joel M. Schofer. Emergency Medicine: AAEM's Rules of the Road for Medical Students. Milwaukee, WI: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, 2003. Print

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs - Prescription Monitoring Program. Web. 30 April 2014.

Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. ok.gov/odmhsas

"United States Department of Health and Human Services | HHS.gov." United States Department of Health and Human Services | HHS.gov. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page”. Web. 30 April 2014.