Premium Essay

Reasons and Prevention Strategies for Epidemic of Prescription Drug Abuse Among Teens

In:

Submitted By eshort22
Words 2975
Pages 12
| Reasons and Prevention Strategies for Epidemic of Prescription Drug Abuse among Teens | Prescription Drug Epidemic Among Teens | Walden University |

|

Reasons and Prevention Strategies for Prescription Drug Abuse among Teens
Overview
Increasing abuse of prescription drugs among teens can be attributed to psychological, environmental, or behavioral conditions.Drug abuse in teens can be linked to other disorders or conditions which lead to drug abuse. Teens who abuse drugs are likely to become adults who abuse drugs. It is necessary to understand and address these underlying issues if successful prevention is to happen. First it is necessary to understand the magnitude of the problem
2.3 million Teens were abusing prescription drugs in 2003. (Controlled Prescription Drug Abuse at Epidemic Level, 2006) This is a very large number of teens abusing potentially addictive and deadly drugs. These numbers indicate a major problem with the potential to rapidly grow out of control if not addressed appropriately. In fact recent studies have found there has been an increase in prescription drug abuse among teens at an alarming rate.
From 2005 to 2008 there was a 12% increase in prescription drug abuse among teens. (Elliot, Souder, Privette, &Richardson, 2008) This is a very large increase in a very short period of time. An increase such as this calls for further explanations on why this increase occurred so rapidly. Prevention methods need to be developed to avert teens from a life time of addiction. Teens who abuse prescription drugs are more likely to abuse other drugs. The earlier a teen uses drugs for nonmedical purposes the more likely they are to develop a “life time diagnosis of drug abuse”. (McCabe, West, Morales, Cranford, &Boyd, 2007 p. 1921) The damage to the lives of the teens and family of teens suffering from addiction could be

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Prescription Drug Abuse

...Turner Comp 2 Is Prescription Drug Abuse an Epidemic? Many people especially the younger generation, ages starting at twelve years old have turned to the abuse of prescription drugs. The most commonly misused prescription drugs are painkillers (opioids), antidepressants, and anxiety medication. People claim addiction is a choice, but according to science addiction is considered a brain disease due to the fact that it alters the brain permanently by changing the structure of the brain itself and how it works. Some say the huge sting made over prescription drug abuse is all over exaggerated and they blame the media. But how can you make the claim that the abuse of prescription drugs isn’t a huge epidemic? The 2010 Nation Survey of Drug use and Health states that 2.4 million Americans have used prescription drugs non medically within the last year with ages 18-25 being the highest of users. Evidence proves that prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in the United States today, and those who disagree rely on blaming the media for falsely portraying the intensity of prescription drug abuse. People often think everything is okay as long as it’s not right in front of their faces, and too many people have turned a blind eye to this dangerous addiction. It is time for people to realize the real issues prescription drug abuse is causing and how quickly it has become such a dangerous epidemic. How did this epidemic spread so quickly, when does addiction actually...

Words: 1918 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Health Policy

...Interstate Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs - A Priority Issue for Partnership for a Drug Free America Abstract One ongoing priority of the Partnership for a drug free America (PDFA) is supporting Prescription drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP). With adolescent prescription drug abuse on the rise PDFA started a 5- year campaign called the Medicine abuse project to prevent teen prescription drug abuse. A vital tool taking precedence in this project is ensuring that Interstate prescription drug monitoring programs are implemented, utilized, and funded in all 50 states. PDFA points to research from the CDC showing the rise of prescription drug abuse amongst teens ,and their recommendation for using prescription drug monitoring programs to gain control over this epidemic. In supporting PDMPs, The Partnership for a Drug Free America is rallying with the Congressional caucus on prescription drug abuse and their initiatives to support nationally interconnected PDMPs. Recently, PDFA has received a great deal of backlash, and their motives for supporting interstate PDMPs have come into question. Mainly, because of their financial support from Pharma Pharmaceuticals. However, PDFA address all funding questions responding that Pharma provides funding solely for educational grants. The use of Interstate PDMPs comes into controversy with states like Florida, suggesting that utilizing interstate PDMPs violates...

Words: 2608 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Prescription Drug Abuse In The United States

...Most of us respect prescription drugs, mainly used for the reason the doctor intended. Understanding problems, pitfalls and the magnitude prescription drug abuse and misuse has on today’s society. Medical society estimates the number as high as 40 million people (aged 12 and older); have used drugs for nonmedical reasons in their lifetime. Making nonmedical use of prescription drugs a defining drug dilemma of the new century. The management of chronic pain is an art and a science, according to the Center of Disease Control (CDC). Nevertheless, the opioid epidemic has received substantial publicity and policy makers are more aggressively trying to combat the problem. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the three classes of...

Words: 1252 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Substance Abuse Notes

...Substance Abuse – Pre-midterm Notes Week 2 (First lecture) – 9/10 * Substance use vs. abuse * Use * The legal enjoyment of your property within socially acceptable norms * i.e. you don’t drive under the influence – that’s not socially acceptable * Consumption of any psychoactive substance * More neutral * Includes * Social drinking * 1-2 drinks on any one social occasion * Abuse * Any use of illegal drugs * Ex. Any use of crack cocaine – never legal * Used both objectively and pejoratively with the intention to vilify consumption of illicit drugs * Use that is harmful and puts the user at risk * Have been used interchangeably by the media * Alcohol use in that context * Social drinking * 1-2 drinks in a day, in any one social occasion * Problem drinking * 3-4 drinks a day * Alcohol abuse * 6-24 drinks a day * What is a drug?: Defining the term * 3 categories: Illegality, Medical utility, Psychoactivity * Medical utility * Used to treat or heal the mind or body * Medicalization: prescription of currently illegal substances for medical purposes * Marijuana in 14 states * Heroin in some countries * Not all substances have medical utility * Categorization by government ...

Words: 3491 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Tobacco Cessation Effectiveness in Youth and Adolescence

...Youth and Adolescence Despite the development of smoking cessation medications and aids, tobacco use remains a major societal problem in America today. The systemic effects of the nicotine contained in tobacco and absorbed by the body leave a devastating footprint on smokers and non-smokers alike. The financial strain on the healthcare system is self-evident. The research gathered has proven to be inadequate because the sample sizes are small, and the researchers did not properly record statistics to prove effectiveness of the cessation programs. There are three very effective steps for adolescent cessation: screen for tobacco dependency with families, counsel and use behavioral interventions and prescription medications, and finally educate parents about the dangers of second hand smoke. Lack of accessibility to numerous tobacco dependence treatments remains an issue. Furthermore, impact on health from tobacco use has been documented profusely, yet the tobacco industry still continues to lure adolescents and adults with the advertising and promotional markets. One in two smokers will die prematurely of a disease caused by dependence on tobacco. After reading findings by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, it is stated that “youths also are susceptible to tobacco advertising, and those who are exposed to frequent advertisements for tobacco are more likely to smoke than those who are not” (Milton 44). This problem is...

Words: 3880 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Executive Director

...Consumption and Consequences of Alcohol & Other Drugs in Lake County, Indiana    Produced by the  Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Prosecutor’s Office & Lake County Drug Free Alliance The Study Was Funded By the State of Indiana Via a Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) State Incentive Grant (SIG) The Grant is Being Administered Under the Supervision of the Co-Chairs, Sheriff Roy Dominguez and Prosecutor, Bernard A. Carter John Ayre Key Jr., Chief of Staff  With Support from   Calumet College of Saint Joseph’s Public Safety Institute  Completed Monday, March 18, 2008                     Our Vision:   A Healthy, Safe and Drug-Free County Encouraging and Enhancing Creativity and Productivity Among All Citizens             Our Mission:   To Eliminate Substance Abuse In Lake County          This document is written for key community stakeholders and policymakers and presents data and analysis to support the development of a county-wide systemic framework and approach to reducing alcohol use and abuse and eliminating drug use in Lake County, Indiana.   This document and the efforts described herein were funded through a Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) from the Department...

Words: 15653 - Pages: 63

Free Essay

Drug Addiction

...CHAPTER 2. A HISTORY OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE IN AMERICA Written by: Tammy L. Anderson To appear in: Harrison, L., Anderson, T., Martin, S., and Robbins, C. Drug and Alcohol Use in Social Context. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing -1- A HISTORY OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL IN THE UNITED STATES Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to review the history of drug use and its social control in the United States so that students can gain an improved and thorough understanding of today’s problems and policies. Our approach to this matter is sociological, i.e., exploring how the interconnection between culture, social institutions, groups, and individuals function to create drug-related phenomena. A sociological approach integrates many kinds of social, cultural, political, and economic factors that manifest themselves in everyday life. While pharmacology helps us comprehend how specific drugs impact brain activity, sociology can inform us about the social roots of drugrelated behaviors which ultimately shape beliefs and behavior and motivate social policy. Therefore, a review of drug use in the U.S. and the social response to it must consider many diverse phenomena. This broader framework will move us beyond domestic borders and into the international community, for the history of drug abuse is an international, socio-political marvel. Another idea warrants mentioning before we begin our history lesson. It centers on the idea that drug use and abuse are socially constructed...

Words: 16400 - Pages: 66

Free Essay

Health and Wellness

...Health and Wellness in Native North America It is true that many of the old ways have been lost. But just as the rains restore the earth after a drought, so the power of the Great Mystery will restore the way and give it new life. We ask that this happen not just for the Red People, but for all people, that they all might live. Black Elk, Oglala, Sioux Contemporary health status of American Indians can be best viewed through the lens of various federal policies enacted over the past 500 years. These policies were developed largely in response to dramatic population losses among the indigenous peoples of America, resulting from genocidal actions of military campaigns, the lack of immunity to the diseases that accompanied European colonizers, and the assimilation efforts that destroyed tribal structures and wellness practices. Medical services were first coordinated through army physicians in the Department of War in an effort to control the spread of diseases from early reservation sites placed on or near military forts. By the twentieth century, the rapid decline of the Indigenous population, documented by the “Meriam Report” of 19281 prompted new assimilation efforts to save the first Americans. Healthcare services were re-coordinated within the Bureau of Indian Affairs and then into the Public Health Service, finally resting within the Federal Indian Health Service (IHS). Assimilation policies, however, proved to be highly destructive resulting in the...

Words: 6645 - Pages: 27

Free Essay

Sociology

...International Journal of Medical Sociology and Anthropology ISSN: 2546-9763 Vol. 2 (2), pp. 066-075, February, 2013. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals Review Review on Medicalisation: A critical appraisal with special reference to India Zulufkar Ahmad Khanday Department of Sociology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, 202002, India. E-mail: k.zulufkar.amu@gmail.com, Tel.: 8171286053 Accepted 10 December, 2013 The concept of medicalization emerged from the intellectual and social turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s as a critique of medicine as authoritarian and the expansion of its conceptual model to the analysis of social ills and attendant policy. “Medicalization” refers the process by which non-medical problems become defined and treated as medical problems, usually in terms of illness and disorders”. This review is based mainly on three objectives; (a) first is to explain the nature of medicalization- i.e. what medicalization actually is and why there is need of de-medicalization, (b) second is to explain the how the medicalization has negative effects on the health of people- i.e. ‘the medical establishment has become a major threat to health’ and providing a dossier of medicine’s adverse effects – the wrongs and harms it has done – through processes of clinical, social and cultural ‘iatrogenesis’ or doctor-induced conditions, and finally (c) third is to explain the impact of the...

Words: 7802 - Pages: 32

Free Essay

Anth106 Notes

...with Drugs . The effect of a drug is caused solely by its pharmacological properties and effects. . Some drugs are instantly addictive . The gateway/ stepping stone theory - the use of 1 drug leads to the use of other more dangerous drugs What are drugs ? Krivanek's definition : Drugs are substances that are introduced into the body knowingly but not as food. Therefore illicit drugs, legal recreational drugs and legal but regulated pharmaceutical drugs that aren't recreational at all. - Whether if a drug is considered bad and is prohibited depends on the culture of the society in a particular period. What is culture ? The definition of culture = Through Roger keesing and Andrew Strathern's definition it is a system of shared ideas, rules and meanings that underlie and are expressed in the ways that human live. - This includes : law, beliefs, political economy, media and popular culture - this perceives ideas about what is normal and abnormal to society. " Culture is always changing and contested, not unified" Enthography as a method for studying drug use It is a process of observing, recoding and describing other peoples way of life through intimate participation the community being studied". - Participation observation, involving yourself in the life of the community , taking up the life of the other person, observing their actions, asking questions and learning what questions to ask. Zinberg's theory of drug use Effect of drug use...

Words: 21869 - Pages: 88

Premium Essay

Crime and Justice

...RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIME AND JUSTICE CHAPTER 1 – THE RESEARCH PRACTICE Chapter Review Questions Respond to each of the following questions using the information from this chapter. 1. During a recent meeting of the command staff at a mid-sized police department, the chief asks the patrol captain for his recommendation for new flashlights. The captain responds, “I did a little research and I recommend that we purchase the DryLight, Model X flashlight”. The patrol captain’s research consisted of “asking a few of the officers” what they thought would be a good flashlight. Did the patrol captain actually conduct research? Why or why not? ANSWER: Technically, the patrol captain did some research. He conducted interviews which is a form of data collection. One could argue, however, that the patrol captain’s research was limited (pp. 7-8). 2. Respond to the following statement in 3-5 sentences: Conducting research in the social sciences and in criminal justice in particular is easier than in other sciences because the things we measure are so vague that nobody really cares if we get it right or not. ANSWER: Generally speaking, social science research is more challenging than some of the ‘hard sciences’ because the things social scientists study are difficult to measure objectively. As a result social scientists spend a great deal of time justifying how they measure concepts to their peers (pp. 4-5). 3. Read the following scenarios and identify which of the following...

Words: 11905 - Pages: 48

Premium Essay

Study Habits

...FOREWORD In a span of only five years, the population of the Philippines grew by 7.7 million – from 68.8 million in 1995 to 76.5 million in 2000. During this period, the population growth rate (PGR) was 2.36 percent per year, which means the population doubling time will be within 29 years if the rate does not decline (NSO, 2001). Side by side with rapid population growth is poverty, which still grips about a third of the country's 15.3 million households (NSO, 2001a). This Country Report is timely in that it revisits the link between population/development and poverty, environment, and resources. The Report has two purposes. First, it intends to review the Philippine population/development situation, including issues of reproductive health and gender equity, from the perspective of goals affirmed in the Bali Declaration, the ICPD Program of Action and other related documents. The report's second purpose is to highlight priority population issues in the context of alleviating poverty and improving the quality of life of Filipinos. To reduce poverty significantly within the coming decade, the Philippines must face the challenge of building the capacities of its vast human capital. Only in this way can Filipino families, especially the poor, meaningfully, responsibly, and productively participate in the development process. CONTENTS |FOREWORD ...

Words: 36049 - Pages: 145

Premium Essay

Myths

...Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 BRAIN POWER Myth #1 Most People Use Only 10% of Their Brain Power Myth #2 Some People Are Left-Brained, Others Are Right-Brained Myth #3 Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Is a Well-Established Scientific Phenomenon Myth #4 Visual Perceptions Are Accompanied by Tiny Emissions from the Eyes Myth #5 Subliminal Messages Can Persuade People to Purchase Products 2 FROM WOMB TO TOMB Myth #6 Playing Mozart’s Music to Infants Boosts Their Intelligence Myth #7 Adolescence Is Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil Myth #8 Most People Experience a Midlife Crisis in | 8 Their 40s or Early 50s Myth #9 Old Age Is Typically Associated with Increased Dissatisfaction and Senility Myth #10 When Dying, People Pass through a Universal Series of Psychological Stages 3 A REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST Myth #11 Human Memory Works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurate Events We’ve Experienced Myth #12 Hypnosis Is Useful for Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events Myth #13 Individuals Commonly Repress the Memories of Traumatic Experiences Myth #14 Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives 4 TEACHING OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS Myth #15 Intelligence (IQ) Tests Are Biased against Certain Groups of People My th #16 If You’re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It’s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch Myth #17 The Defining Feature of Dyslexia Is Reversing Letters Myth #18 Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles Are Matched to...

Words: 130018 - Pages: 521

Premium Essay

Edphod8

...# 2011 University of South Africa All rights reserved Printed and published by the University of South Africa Muckleneuk, Pretoria EDPHOD8/1/2012Ð2014 98753223 3B2 Karin-mod Style CONTENTS Learning unit PREFACE SECTION 1 A theoretical framework 1 The pastoral role of the educator in South African public schools: a theoretical framework SECTION 2 Practical examples 2 Understanding cultural diversity in my public school classroom 3 The ABC of building schools for an integrated South African society Ð diverse people unite 4 Education for human rights and inclusivity 5 Child abuse: an educator's guide for the Senior Phase and FET 6 HIV/AIDS education at school 7 Educators' pastoral role in their schools and communities: an opportunity to care SECTION 3 Crisis and trauma in adolescence 8 Crisis: the theory 9 The crisis intervener and the person in crisis: prevention, prejudice and the intervener 10 Crisis intervention: general models 11 The skills for ensuring a positive relationship and interview between the crisis intervener and the adolescent in crisis SECTION 4 The religious world of the learner 12 Understanding religious diversity in my school 186 122 136 144 168 16 24 41 57 81 92 Page (iv) 2 EDPHOD8/1/2012±2014 (iii) PREFACE The study material for this module comprises four sections. Section 1: The theoretical framework for the pastoral role of the educator (see learning unit 1) Section 2: Practical examples to illustrate the applied competence of the community...

Words: 100366 - Pages: 402

Premium Essay

Driving

...Class D & E Driver’s Guide LOUISIANA OFFICE OF MOTOR VEHICLES DPSMV2052 (R042013) Message from the Commissioner “Welcome to driving in Louisiana.” I am pleased to present the Louisiana Driver’s Guide to our new and current drivers. This guide is designed to provide you with the rules of the road, knowledge to assist you in making better driving decisions, and valuable information on safety and sharing the road with others. It is incumbent upon you, the driver, to respect all traffic laws and other drivers as well. Driving is a vital part of life. It provides you with a means of attaining the necessities of daily living as well as providing you with the added convenience to move about at leisure. The driving experience, however, is a privilege and comes with great responsibilities. Please strive to become a safe and dependable driver to ensure that this privilege is not lost. Driving, the same as life, is a constant learning experience. The information contained in this guide, along with your experience and responsive actions while driving, will assist in protecting you, your family, and other drivers. This guide is not intended to be an official legal reference to the Louisiana traffic laws. It only highlights those laws, driving practices and procedures that you will use most often. It should be noted that the material in this guide is subject to change to comply with amended State and Federal legislations. Remember to buckle up. Safety belts save lives. Let’s work...

Words: 59152 - Pages: 237