Prescription Drug Abuse

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David was going through a very hard transition in his life from the elementary levels of school to high school. Along the way, he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and doing all sorts of drugs like smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. In his senior year he realized he wanted to do something different with his life and he joined the boxing team and quit drugs, but one Saturday night that all ended. David was offered a patch that was supposed to make him feel an extremely good feeling. He didn't know what was in the patch, but it contained Fentanyl; a special pain reliever for cancer patients. His friend told him to cut open the patch and ingest what was inside. The next morning, David never woke up. Eight weeks later, his mother found out that it was Fentanyl that killed her son (Fox News). "In 2004, there were 15 million Americans ages 12 and up that took Prescription Drugs and used them non-medically "(Prescription Drugs: Their use and Abuse). All around the country more people are being introduced to prescription drugs and addiction rates increase every year. “In 2013 21.5% of high school seniors admitted to taking prescription drugs for a non-medical reason", in 2012 that number was at 21.2% (National Institute on Drug Abuse). That number slowly increases every single year. This problem is really turning into a pandemic in modern society, therefore it is necessary to examine the causes of prescription drug abuse and implement the solutions such as providing more education and regulating the distribution of prescription drugs.
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...

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Works Cited

Anonymous. "Prescription Drugs: Their Use and Abuse." Scholastic Scope. 20 Feb. 2006: IA. eLibrary. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
Fox News. "Mother Shares Tragic Story of Her Son's Death by Prescription Dr." Mother Shares Tragic Story of Her Son's Death by Prescription Dr. Fox News, 2 May 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
Meadows, Michelle. "Prescription Drug Use and Abuse." FDA Consumer. 01 Sep. 2001: 18. eLibrary. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Prescription Drugs." NIDA for Teens. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
Rettner, Rachael. "Prescription Drug Problem Sparks Debate Over Solutions." LiveScience.com. LiveScience.com, 21 June 2012. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Prescription Drugs." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Dec. 2013

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