Prescription Drug Abuse among Teenagers ( 12-17 Years)
Prescription Drugs are medications that are prescribed to patients by a doctor to help in many ways, such as relieve pain, treat symptoms of a disease, or to help fight an infection. They are very safe when used properly and under supervision of a physician, yet if used without approval of a doctor they can be very harmful and in some cases could lead to death. During your adolescence years, teens have curiosity which builds up and leads them to experimentation. They pop a pill, get high and then want more. Not only do they ease your state of mind, Increasing numbers of teens have easy access to painkillers through classmates, friends, family members, and even online. Sometimes they can even obtain the leftovers from the family medicine cabinet. After experimenting with prescription drugs, what was once a curiosity can turn into dependence rather quickly and even lead to death. Teenagers feel that taking pills is a cheaper, less harmful way to ease your state of mind. If teens are not educated about prescription drugs and the consequences they withhold than the drug use among teens will only increase and so will the deaths.
There are many reasons for continued use with prescription drugs. Some teens feel it takes their minds off of stressful issues and helps them escape their
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problems. Then again, they could be the outsider of a group and feel it’s a solution to make them fit in with the crowd. Other reasoning’s are based upon curiosity and rebellion against their parent’s authority. It gives them a powerful, emotional state that their in control of what they do helping them feel grown up. According to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, “there are certain risk factors that are strong indicators of potential for addiction or abuse: poverty, substance use by parents or other family members, substance use by peers and the perception that “everybody’s doing it”, early use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, poor adjustment to school and/or low achievement at school, poor physical and/or social environment at home or at school, being homeless or running away, childhood aggression, rebellious or sensation-seeking behavior, and being a victim of physical or sexual abuse. (Drug Abuse-Addiction 1)
There are three classes or prescription drugs that are most commonly abused by teenagers: Opioi...
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... Some of these include repeated health complaints, glazed eyes, continuous coughing, personality change, low self-esteem, mood swings, and separation from family, anger, negative attitude, and drop of grades. (Lebelle 3) When noticed changes in behavior after confrontation, it would be necessary to contact a psychiatrist or mental health professional before making decisions on treatment facilities.
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Because of the risks behind drug abuse, parents must take this issue seriously and talk to their children about the risks with prescription drugs. They should put a key on their
medicine cabinet and pay close attention to the actions of their teenagers. As the numbers increase, so do the deaths of many teenagers who only thought that an overdose wouldn’t happen to them. It’s time to take this problem seriously before more lives are taken. Pain killers are there to help people after a big surgery, or to relieve them from pain, not to take the lives of innocent teenagers who are not informed about the risks and dangers behind prescription drugs. I’ve made my point. Prescription drug use among teenagers is a big issue that’s only going to get bigger unless we address it now.
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.
... age could cause adolescents to seek to an alternative way to get opioids from the black market. Doctors will try to lower the rates of opioid dependents by prescribing an alternative medications. With many opioid-dependent patients becoming addictive to opioids it causes huge effects on the human body. With having opioid exposure at such a young age increase the possibility of becoming opioid-dependent patients. “About three quarters of all adolescents receiving treatment for opioid use disorders reported first used before the age of 25” (Pugatch, Marianne, et al 435). Also adolescents visit the emergency department involving “opioid pain relievers and benzodiazepines” (Jones, Christopher M, Leonard J Paulozzi, and Karin A Mack 881). There are many ways to make sure that adolescents will become educated about opioid addiction, for example treatment facilities.
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.
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). Health Watch (2004) state girls tend to lean towards the medi...
Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription painkillers to check out of reality. Pressures on teens are growing, to succeed in sports or to get high grades to get into a good college (Pressures on today’s teens, 2008, theantidrug). Furthermore, because prescriptions drugs are prescribed by doctors they are less likely to be seen as deleterious to teens’ health. A lack of awareness of the problem on the part of teens, parents and society in general, the over-medication of America, and the greater stresses and pressures put upon teens in the modern world have all conspired to create the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by teens.
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
No one starts off as a drug abuser or an addict. So why do people take advantage of drugs or become addicted? They begin to experiment with drugs for many reasons, whether it be curiosity, pleasure, anxiety relief, and peer pressure. Others were probably abused, neglected, or experienced a traumatic event during their lives, leading them to try drugs as a solution. In addition, depression or other mental illness may also contribute ...
Among teens in the United States, some of the most commonly abused drugs are prescription drugs.
Adolescences in particular can be easily influenced to abusing a drug or multiple drugs. I believe this happens because teens often lack education, live in an environment where drugs are readily available, are peer-pressured and the lack of proper growth of the frontal lobe. Many factors contribute to adolescences experimenting with drugs. As side from being a child, the adolescence stage is of great importance. Healthy habits and activities are supposed to be instilled within this stage of life. The adolescence stage can be very perplexing and what is made into a habit then is easily carried on into adulthood. Our genes act together with our environment to contribute to the addictive behaviors we are motivated to develop. If addiction is left untreated it can ultimately lead to de...
There are many other options and treatment plans for people to consider before handing their life over to drugs. Drugs are not meant to be legalized without proper information and education about the drug for the public. Educational programs in the school system are a way of teaching the youth of how harmful these substances are. Even though some may be effective in treating pain, there are long-term side effects associated with these drugs that people need to consider. Pain is inevitable and suffering is
It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.
Each day drugs make a huge impact on our generation. Throughout this topic I would like to know what causes teenagers to try illegal drugs and how impacts their lives. Drugs can affect a person in different parts of their lives. For example their education, work, personal life, and can affect the relationship with their family and friends.
Illegal drugs are used by people as a way out when feeling down about themselves. As the effects of the drugs may stay the same throughout, causes show that there are a large number of reasons for use. Being lonely, isolated, and frustrated in life help start off the drive to escape. In many cases, using drugs is a coping mechanism, especially in teens. Emotions become numb as people try to escape the pain of reality. This is seen in the youth of today as they deal with everyday pressures.. Drug abuse can make people think they are re-creating their former negative self image. This rebellious action gives the attention that is desired. From trying to fit in to hiding from problems, people will always have a choice. In the end, the reality of drug use is damaging to the user's body, mind and relationships.
Few people deny the dangers of drug use, while many teens are curious about drugs. They should stay away from drugs because drugs affect our health, lead to academic failure, and jeopardizes safety. Drugs are used from a long period of time in many countries. The concentration of drugs has increased from late 1960’s and 1970’s. Drugs can quickly takeover our lives. Friends and acquaintance have the greatest influence of using drugs during adolescence.