Abuse of Prescription Drugs

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The definition of abuse of prescription drugs is using a medication in a manner other than prescribed, by a person who it was not prescribed for, to obtain a particular experience. Many people, but especially teenagers and young adults, have turned to abusing prescription medication. Some people have an increased genetic risk of getting addicted to medications but environmental factors such as economic level, lack of employment and pressure from peers also have a significant impact. Abuse of these drugs has harmful side effects to the person abusing them but can also affect the people around them. They are more likely to have difficulties in many areas of their life including problems with family, friends or coworkers. Abusers frequently ‘doctor shop’ or go to several different doctors to get prescriptions from each of them so they can get a large supply of their drug. They are also more likely to get into trouble with the law because of buying the drug on the street or due to an increased tendency to steal so they can be able to buy more. People who abuse prescription drugs are more likely to steal the drugs from family or friends who have been prescribed the medications.

The most commonly abused prescription medication is painkillers. Throughout history, people have attempted to find ways to relieve their pain with the earliest recordings dating back to the 4th or 5th century B.C. As early as 3400 B.C. the Egyptians, Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians cultivated the opium poppy. Hippocrates, the father of medication, left behind records of pain relief treatments, which included the use of leaves and bark of willow trees to treat headaches, fever and pain. In the 16th century, laudanum which is opium prepared in an alcohol s...

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Rabiner, David. "misuse and abuse of stimulant medication; what do we know?." 18 4 2004: 1-3. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. .

Tucker, Cummings. "the history of pain pills." ehow. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 oct 2011.

. "Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction ." national institute of drug abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 nov 11.

"Oxycodone." Cesar. 2 5 2005: n. page. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. .

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