One person dies every 19 minutes from a prescription drug overdose in the United States. In an effort to fight the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs the Food and Drug Administration are trying to get new restrictions on some of the more popularly prescribed narcotic drugs that are currently on the market. (CNN)
In 1999 it has been found that buying of prescription drugs quadrupled, and the deaths from prescription painkillers quadrupled also; every 19 minutes somebody dies in the United States from a prescription drug overdose. From 1996 to 2001, Purdue conducted more than 40 national pain-management and speaker training conferences at resorts in RoHda, Arizona, and California. In order to try and influence how doctors prescribe pain medication, more than 5000 physicians, pharmacists, and nurses were invited, in the hopes that they could be swayed on how and what they prescribed in the area of pain medicine. As a incentive the sales representatives were offered a lucrative bonuses to increase their sales of Oxycontin.
Primary care physicians began to use more of the increasingly popular Oxycontin; by 2003, nearly half of all physicians prescribing Oxycontin were primary care doctors; some experts were concerned that primary care physicians were not trained in pain management or addiction issues. Misrepresenting the risk of addiction proved costly for Purdue, on May 10, 2007,1'urdue Frederick Company Inc, an affiliate of Purdue Pharma, along with 3 company executives, pled guilty to criminal charges of misbranding Oxycontin by claiming that it was less addictive and less subject to abuse and diversion than other opioids, and would have to pay $634 million in fines.
Conclusion:
Today both federal and states agencies are res...
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Hydrocodone Addiction Facts - Rehab International rehab-international.org › Addiction Center
About Alta Mira Drug Rehab Programs - Alta Mira Recovery Programs www.altamirarecovery.com/about/ Oxycontin users switching to heroin after drug is redesigned | Fox ... www.foxnews.com/.../Oxycontin-users-switching-to-h... Drug Trends Missouri www.usnodrugs.com/drugtrends.htm?state=Missouri Long Term Effects - In The Know Zone www.intheknowzone.com/substance.../Oxycontin/long-term-effects.html Short Term Effects - In The Know Zone www.intheknowzone.com/substance.../Oxycontin/short-term-effects.html Missouri last in nation on monitoring prescription drug abuse | Guest ... www.lsjournal.com/2013/11/.../missouri-last-in-nation-on-monitoring.ht... Prescription Drugs: Oxycontin Abuse and Diversion and Efforts to Address the Problem: GAO-04-110.
On the typical day, over 90 people will die at the hand of opioid abuse in America alone (National). In fact, as of 2014, nearly 2 million Americans were dependent and abusing opioids. The Opioid Crisis has affected America and its citizens in various ways, including health policy, health care, and the life in populous areas. Due to the mass dependence and mortality, the crisis has become an issue that must be resolved in all aspects.
Prescription and pharmaceutical drug abuse is beginning to expand as a social issue within the United States because of the variety of drugs, their growing availability, and the social acceptance and peer pressure to uses them. Many in the workforce are suffering and failing at getting better due to the desperation driving their addiction.
Dr. John Abramson’s book Overdosed America debunks the myths about the excellence of American medicine. Abramson backs up this claim by closely examining research about medicine, closely examining the unpublished details submitted by drug manufacturers to the FDA, and discovering that the unpublished data does not coincide with the claims made about the safety and effectiveness of commonly used medicines. Abramsons purpose is to point out the flaws of the pharmaceutical industry in order to warn the readers about the credibility of the drugs they are buying. Given the critical yet technical language of the book, Abramson is writing to an audience that may include academic physicians as well as those who want to learn about the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry.
In some instances, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States misleads both the public and medical professionals by participating in acts of both deceptive marketing practices and bribery, and therefore does not act within the best interests of the consumers. In America today, many people are in need of medical help. In fact,the Federal Trade Commission estimates that 75% of the population complain of physical problems (Federal Trade Commission 9). They complain, for example, of fatigue, colds, headaches, and countless other "ailments." When these symptoms strike, 65% purchase over-the-counter, or OTC, drugs.
Before the mid 1900’s the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was formed to tax those making, importing or selling any derivative of opium or coca leaves. In the 1920s, doctors became aware of the highly addictive nature of opioids and started to avoid treating patients with them (Center, 2004). In 1924 heroin became illegal. However according to a history published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, anesthesiologists opened "nerve block clinics" in the 1950s and 1960s to manage pain without having to resort to surgery (Meldrum, 2003). This push for treating pain without surgery was a major factor in the opioid epidemic we see today. In 2008 the overdose death rate was almost four times the rate in 1999, and the sales of prescription pain relievers in 2010 were four times higher than in 1999 (Paulozzi et al, 2011). The substance use disorder treatment admission rate is also greater than in 1999, with it having been six times higher in 2009. Chasing Heroin’s claims surrounding the fear of prescribing pain medications is accurate as you see an increase in public policies surrounding opiate use in the early 1900’s. The climbing rates of overdose deaths and the increased amount of people seeking addiction treatment suggests that the fear of prescription opiates was
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
The phenomenon of Methamphetamine use and distribution is rising in our country. With this growing problem, the state of Kentucky is right at the top of the list. Manufacturing alone has more than tripled over the past four years, in the state of Kentucky. Given the rural areas and large vacant buildings, Kentucky has quickly become a breeding ground for Methamphetamine. A necessary additive for production anhydrous ammonia is available at many farm stores in the state. This phenomenon is largely costing the tax payers, as well as, putting our future generation in jeopardy. Given statistical data on the increased use and manufacturing, a definite problem is noted.
Fatal complications occur from regular use, for example, liver damage, seizures, elevated blood pressure causing stroke, heart failure, or heart attack. Another growing fad in the United States is the abuse of prescription drugs. The abuse is being done by not only adults, but by teens. The most current trend today is the misuse of cough syrups and prescription medications to produce a “high.” Other medications abused today are stimulants (Ritalin), and benzodiazepines (Xanax).
By the year 2000 opioid medicine containing oxycodone etc., are being abused and misused and more than doubled in 10 years’ time.
One of the main causes of prescription drug abuse is the insufficiency of education for both doctors and patients. If David knew more about the dangers of prescription drugs, his death would ha...
From as early as the 1990s, there has been statistical data to show that the opioid addiction epidemic has seen its significant amount of overdose death rates, sales and substance abuse of these prescription pain relievers increased over time. Regarding an outstandingly high concentration of opioid use in areas such as Delaware, Washington D.C, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the United States has currently approximately that now as many as 20.1 million Americans addicted to some type of opioid (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Some of these most commonly prescribed opioid that is provided to some patients are Oxycodone, Vicodin and Percocet to effectively reduce chronic pain symptoms for either a short or long period
Alcoholism and drug addiction have obvious and well documented effects on the substance abusers. Prolonged abuse of drugs and/or alcohol will damage a person’s physical health, impair his or her mental functioning and damage the spirit. But how will these adverse effects impact the addict’s immediate family, and how will the damage manifest itself?
"OxyContin: The History of OxyContin." Drug Rehab, Alcohol Addiction Treatment and Detox | Michael's House. Web. 22 June 2010. .
It is also easy to see the American people’s infatuation with drugs by simply looking at our current number of prescriptions filled at pharmacies annually. An active data table hosted by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation states that about four billion prescriptions are filled annually (Kaiser). This is enough prescriptions for every person in the country, children and adults, to have twelve each. Once a person is on a drug, it is often hailed as an immediate fix to the problem, but many don’t think or just don’t care about the long-term side effects it could hold.
Drug abuse is defined as the excessive use of medication or substances which are either legal or illegal without the prescription of a physician. While some drugs are legal, overdosing is considered as drug abuse as the medicine is only healthy and helpful when taken in the required amount with the permission of a doctor. Other forms of drug abuse entail the use of substance that is either discouraged by healthcare association or illegalized by authorities. The users may use the drugs in order to feel a rush of energy or appear calm than normal. Drug abuse is a problem that affects the users, their close relatives and the society they live in (Barnard, 2007). There are different types of drugs that are abused ranging from extremely