Prescription Drugs Prescription drugs are killing more and more Americans every day by the thousands.Study shows that the number of deaths is rising dramatically because, of confusion, misuse,and abusing the prescription drugs.So due to all of the deaths caused by overdosing on prescription drugs, are they really helping in the medical field? And if so, why are doctors still prescribing these drugs if they know so many people overdose on them? One of the questions researchers ask is; why do people abuse and misuse prescription drugs? knowing that abusing drugs can get them killed and that those drugs are highly addictive. “Prescription drugs were involved in 82% of the 384 overdose deaths investigated by the Victorian coroner's court in 2014”.Doctors knowing that these prescription drugs are the cause of most of the deaths by overdosing, so why are they still prescribing them? And another question researchers ask is how do people get there hands on prescription drugs, if there not being prescribed to them. …show more content…
It is also the most abused drug in people between the ages of 17-25 because,”In the U.S., past-year prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription drugs -- opioids, stimulants, tranquilizers and sedatives--was reported by 6 percent of 12 to 17 year-olds and just under 12 percent of 18 to 25 year-olds, mainly driven by the misuse of opioids” this shows that opioids leads the number for the highest nonmedical use of a prescription drug in America. Another reason why opioids are the most misused drug is that they are quite easily obtained. Anyone can go to the doctors office and fake an illness to get
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.
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.
Opioid addiction is a tragedy that affects countless of Americans on a daily basis. Almost everyone is acquainted to someone, who suffers from opioid addiction. Everyone, but specifically family and friends of the victims to opioid addiction need to understand why their loved ones are so susceptible to becoming addicted to opioids. The word opioid in itself is complex to define, but it entails a variety of prescription medications. Most opioids are used as pain management medications and qualify as CII medications also known as narcotics. They are supposed to be used on an “as needed” basis, but that is not the case for many users of opioids. Opioids cause great fear in the health community because they are easily addictive and
More than often, American’s argue that if we have the technology to gain access to these “miracle meds”, then we should take advantage of it. To receive an opposing view, the National Institute of Drug Abuse asked teens around America why they think prescription drugs are overused, and the results were shocking; 62%: “Easy to get from parent's medicine cabinets”, 51%: “They are not illegal drugs”, 49%: “Can claim to have prescription if caught”, 43%: “They are cheap”, 35%: “Safer to use than illegal drugs”, 33%: “Less shame attached to using”, 32%: “Fewer side effects than street drugs”, 25%: “Can be used as study aids”, and 21%: “Parents don't care as much if caught”. I believe the major problem here isn’t the medication, but instead the fact that our nation is extremely uninformed on the “do’s and dont’s” of prescription medication. When “the United States is 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 75 percent of the the world's prescription drugs” (CDC), there is a problem present, no matter the reason. Clearly, many critics believe the breathtaking amount of pills we consume in America is simply for the better good, but tend to forget the effects that are soon to follow.
Opioids are used as pain relievers and although it does the job, there are adverse side effects. Opioids are frequently used in the medical field, allowing doctors to overprescribe their patients. The substance can be very addicting to the dosage being prescribed to the patient. Doctors are commonly prescribing opioids for patients who have mild, moderate, and severe pain. As the pain becomes more severe for the patient, the doctor is more likely to increase the dosage. The increasing dosages of the narcotics become highly addicting. Opioids should not be prescribed as pain killers, due to their highly addictive chemical composition, the detrimental effects on opioid dependent patients, the body, and on future adolescents. Frequently doctors have become carless which causes an upsurge of opioids being overprescribed.
In the United States, opioid addiction rates have majorly increased . Between 2000-2015 more than half a million individuals have died from Opioid overdose, and nearly 5 million people have an opioid dependence which has become a serious problem. The Center for Disease control reports that there are 91 deaths daily due to opioid abuse. Taking opioids for long periods of time and in
It has been said that addiction is the plague of the 21st century. In an age of unprecedented life expectancy and medical breakthroughs, people are dying from both disease and overdose that are self inflicted and the cure is currently out of reach. Implementing progressive ideas such as safe injection sites have been a battle, both for caring social workers and front line emergency workers looking to minimize the health risks associated with risk taking behaviors that inevitably occur with intravenous drug use. While the addicted population currently uses considerable government funding by way of shelter services as well as prison and jail time, safe injection sites are a necessary step in the battle against drug abuse as is a major prevention
Almost everybody on Long Island, and probably all around the world, has been prescribed a drug by a doctor before— whether it was to knock out a nasty virus, or relieve pain post injury or surgery. However, what many people don’t realize is that these drugs can have highly addictive qualities, and more and more people are becoming hooked, specifically teenagers. But when does harmlessly taking a prescription drug to alleviate pain take the turn into the downward spiral of abuse? The answer to that question would be when the user begins taking the drug for the “high” or good feelings brought along with it—certainly not what it was prescribed for (1). The amount of teens that abuse prescription medications has been rapidly increasing in recent
Most adolescents who misuse prescription pain relievers are given the medication by an unknown friend or relative. This is a situation that can easily be avoided with an education on the risks of opioids. Patricia Schram, MD, an adolescent substance abuse specialist at Children’s Hospital Boston, stresses the importance of parent involvement in preventing young adults from abusing opioids and in the recovery process, citing a study that claimed, “teens were less likely to abuse opioids if their parents often checked their homework, if they had been frequently praised by their parents and if they perceived strong disapproval of marijuana from their parents” (Viamont 1). Besides parent and family involvement, physicians have a role to play in preventing the spread of the opioid epidemic.
Prescription drugs do not always cause addiction, but a specific group of prescription narcotics can increase dependency on the medication and cause a severe addiction. For many people that become addicted to prescribed medicines, it changes their life forever. Prescription drugs are equally as dangerous as street drugs, if not more so. High powered pain relievers are safe if taken properly, but some people pop multiples a day which can cause coma and even death.
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 lack of education for both doctors and patients. People usually use prescription drugs to loose weight, get high, and get stronger. Many people who consume drugs do not know the dangers that exist while consuming them. Patients normally don’t think to themselves that these medications are dangerous because they come from Pharmacies and are provided from doctors. However, prescription drugs can be just as deadly and detrimental to your health like a gun or drinking alcohol can be. Most people don’t care to properly store them either. If prescription drugs aren't treated at the recommended temperature, at the right dosage, or taken by the right person, you can take something that was meant to save lives and turn it into something that can seriously hurt or make you very sick. One of the most dangerous prescription drugs out there right now is OxyCotin. OxyCotin is a prescription drug pain reliever that's designed to slowly release medicine over time by form of a capsule. Abusers bypass that by chewing, injecting, and even snorting the medicine in the drug (Meadows, Michelle). Prescription Drugs: Their Use and Abuse says when a person takes so much over the safe dosage amount the drug can actually have very different effects on your body.
Prescription drugs are a huge weight on the U.S. and many deal with drug abuse and its effects. According to Rx Safely Matters, 1,600 teens abuse drugs every day, over 16,000 people die each year from a prescription drug overdose according to the Nation Institute on Drug Abuse. The Washington Post reports that 59 percent of Americans have a have a drug prescription. All of these factors combine to hurt the United States, as our health care system spends 26 billion dollars a year on prescription drugs. These drugs aren’t good for your body and after years of abusing them, you will see the effects. The reason it is such a challenge for our country is the fact that so many people use them and therefore might need them, which makes a solution harder
The issue towards the medication has ended up multifaceted nature pointing towards an uncommon change in the public (Barry et al., 2016). Progressively, the monetary expenses developed in numbers on the grounds, so the general population abusing opioids got financially troubles. The unintended utilization of opioids rose in the inebriation of passings. Society has many generous expenses inside the economy from the solution of opioids (Meyer, Patel, Rattana, Quock, and Mody, 2014). After the societal expenses developed, overdose passings step by step expanded from dependence and other hazard variables from the professionally prescribed solution (Baldwin, Campopiano, McCance-Katz, and Jones,
Users who abuse drugs by prescription improperly use them by taking somebody else 's prescription, taking medication to get high, or taking medication in other ways than applied