...Prescription Drug Abuse in America Kelsey Diamond Ferris State University Abstract Prescription drug abuse is a very real and prominent facet of American society. According to the staff at Mayo Clinic, “Prescription drug abuse is the use of a prescription medication in a way not intended by the prescribing doctor [and] includes everything from taking a friend's prescription painkiller for your backache to snorting or injecting ground-up pills to get high”. Because of the high rates of abuse and serious effects of prescription drugs, it is important that this topic is explained to and understood by the American public. The purpose of this research was to gain such understanding and organize it in a way that is informational and comprehensible...
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...Mackenzie Weiss ENC1101-Tuesday July 31, 2012 Research Paper ADHD Medications and their Abuse Today The medications used to treat Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are powerful, especially when abused, and have lasting impacts on the patients and the abusers. Treatment, in the form of prescription drugs is available to help these individuals, yet is harmful to others who either are misdiagnosed or abuse it. Additional laws and policies implemented by our elected officials will help ensure the prescribed medications reach the intended patients resulting in lower abuse. ADHD is described as the “most common neurological disorder” (“Facts”) and is a condition that affects many children and adults all over the world. The diagnosis and treatment for ADHD is on the rise in this country, and the signs and symptoms are important for people to notice. ADHD first appears in children who may show a combination of disruptive problems including impulsive behavior, low self-esteem, hyperactivity, and poor performance in school/work. Children, treated for this disorder, are more likely to carry it until adolescence, but for some, ADHD may become a life-long adjustment into adulthood. Specifically for males, hyperactivity is a huge signal that they need to be tested for attention deficit. For females, the signs are the opposite, leading to many underdiagnosed women. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “boys were more likely than girls to have ever...
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...OxyContin is a powerful painkiller with addictive properties that are similar to street-grade heroin. In the past several years, there has been a stunning rise in the amount of people seeking treatment for opioid addiction, especially in teens. Unfortunately, OxyContin and its counterpart Oxycodone has wreaked havoc on thousands of lives and ended the lives of countless others. The drugs powerful addictive properties causes many people to suffer from terrible withdrawal symptoms when they try to rid their bodies from the drug. Many substance abuse experts in the United States believe that opioid abuse is at epidemic proportions. One of the biggest problems facing the country today is the rise in people, namely teens, turning to heroin to feed their opioid addiction. Street-level heroin is far cheaper than opioids such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin and Morphine. In addition, the rise in heroin use leads to increased criminal activity since those who are addicted to the drug will often times go to any lengths to feed their intense craving for the drug. Over Prescribing Opioids in the U.S....
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...Prescription drug abuse is on the rise as a result of the numerous ways they can be taken, the different varieties of each type of drug, and their effortless accessibility. Doctors have reported writing more prescriptions out to patients recently than there has ever been before. “Ohio pharmacists filled 2.7 million prescriptions in 2008 for high-powered painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet, narcotics that contain oxycodone; that's nearly one for every four people in the state” (The Columbus Dispatch 1). In addition to going to a local pharmacy to get prescription medication, people now can go to the Internet and find an online pharmacy which will send them medications. They are able to attain medication easier for the following reasons:...
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...Shakib Hossain Causal Argument English 191 February 2015 Why the War on Drugs Failed “For every prohibition you create, you also create an underground”. These words by famous musician Jello Biafra may sound prejudiced, but it is the truth we all live and have lived by since the prohibition era. The war on drugs has become a significant issue in today’s society, but people are not completely sure why the war on drugs has failed. In reference to Jello Biafra, the war on drugs is a type of a prohibition, but the real question is how big of an underground has this war created that it has ultimately failed. The start of the war on drugs can officially be dated as far back as 1971 when Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as “public enemy number one”, and he increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies (Drug Policy Alliance, 2014). Later, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the number of people incarcerated for drug abuse shot up sky high due to his zero tolerance policy, and the unpredicted rise of illicit drug use. When we say the war on drugs has failed, we usually consider that the use of illicit drugs could not be reduced and is on the rise. However, it is also because it is costing more and more lives every day in addition to all the resources used coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets. In short, the war on drugs has failed because the government enforced punishment instead of prevention, which led to creating a black market that increased crime and corruption...
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...Driving through country roads, you get a glimpse of people who seem to be living the American dream, but do you ever wonder what is beyond the white picket fences? What kind of struggles do they face? Later, you find out that, inside the house you once dreamed about, the mother is an alcoholic and the children are drug dealers. It destroys the romance you had envisioned. In recent years, drug use has spiked in America, specifically Appalachia. The effects are detrimental to their society. The increase in drug abuse in Appalachia results in the rise of home instability, incarceration rates, and death rates. Home instability plays a sizable role in the cycle of drug problems in Appalachia. J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy attests to this statement...
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...Abuse and Substance Addiction in Adolescence Abuse and Substance Addiction in Adolescences Introduction Did you know that one in 15 high school seniors smoke marijuana on a daily basis or near daily basis, and close to three quarters have consumed alcohol by the end of their high school years (Feldman, 2013, p. 371)? The adolescence years can be characterized by irresponsible behavior and risky choices for some, causing the prevalence of substance abuse and addiction to be on the rise during these years. Substance abuse can be defined as the over indulgence of a substance that can lead to harmful effects for the individual and or others. Adolescents turn to substance abuse for various reasons. According to Feldman (2013, p.371) many use because they want that free spirit feeling that the loss of inhibitions and tension might provide, others are thrill seeking, and some use them as means to escape from daily stressors. Research states there is a link between adolescent’s substance addiction and changes in brain structure, function, and neurocognition that are characterized by this stage of development (Squeglia, L. M., Jacobus, J., & Tapert, S. F.,2009). Substance Abuse/Addiction on Brain Development From 12 to 18 years of age the use of alcohol and drugs rises tremendously. This rise in substance use correlates with the fact that in 2009 23% of adolescents met the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder by the age of 20 (Squeglia, L. M...
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...Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker is defined as someone who assesses and treats clients with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including alcohol, tobacco, and or other drugs. The worker may include activities such as individual and group counseling, therapy, crisis prevention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education. Substance abuse is one of the major health problems in the United States impacting society on multiple levels. The cost of treating substance abuse individuals continues to rise each year. Approximate costs of substance abuse in the U.S. are $138 billion on smoking, $161 billion on illegal drugs, and $185 billion on alcohol. It costs the nation more than $484 billion per year to help individuals begin on the road to recovery. These costs affect all of society not just abusers. Tobacco contributes to 11-30% of cancer deaths, 30% of heart disease cases have been linked to the use of illegal drugs, one third of HIV/AIDS cases and most cases of hepatitis C are a result of the injection of drugs. The abuse of drugs has also resulted to pediatric AIDS cases where the mother was a user or was having sexual relations with an injection drug user. Many individuals who have substance abuse problems have usually experienced domestic violence, child abuse, and stress and use this as a coping mechanism. Mental Health disorders include suicide, schizophrenia, ADHD, autism, eating...
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...Drug Addiction – A community problem Chad L. Salyer In this paper I will be discussing the growing drug problem in our communities and the approach that will be used to alleviate the problem. Drug abuse has been a continuing problem in our communities and is rising at an alarming rate. It has been spreading at such a rate that it is no longer isolated in poor, middle class or upper class areas. Prescription drug abuse and heroine has become the most common forms of drugs being used by addicts and is not only a serious health problem, but is also a problem that effects the entire community. For this study I will be focusing on the individual addict and then the environment in which they live. Though there are many prevention programs that exist, it seems that prevention and Law Enforcement are not able to slow or stop the problem. Drug abuse is rising at an alarming rate and is certainly not prejudice as to who becomes a drug addict. So how can we possibly combat a problem that seems immune to all the efforts that has been brought fourth? I believe the approach should begin with the individual and changing one’s habitual thinking. Education is key to not only prevention but to those already addicted to drugs. The main research question I am exploring is if the environment plays a significant role in the cause of drug addiction. It seems that not only prescription drugs, but also illegal drugs...
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...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...
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...College Students and Drug Abuse The irresponsible use of drugs and alcohol by college students has always been an issue for university campuses, but the problem has become more and more frequent and has grown in familiarity with every passing generation. In past years, the problem has not only multiplied in frequency, but has also grown in danger. Now students are abusing not only recreational drugs like Marijuana and Cocaine, but also prescription drugs like Ritalin and others like it such as Adderall. "As many as 20 percent of college students have used Ritalin or Adderall to study, write papers, and take exams..." (Jacobs 2). Medications like Ritalin are used to provide energy and concentration when a person cannot achieve them through regular means. Students take medication like Ritalin to help them deal with loss of sleep so they can stay up all night to cram and still do well in class. Students are now using similar medications like Adderall that are released over long periods of time so they can keep an energy high throughout an entire day instead of just one or two class periods. On some campuses, if you’re not using Ritalin or Adderall, you are just increasing your risk to fall behind. As one Columbia student said, “If you don’t take them, you’ll be at a disadvantage to everyone else” (Jacobs 3). This previous statement is unfortunately all too true, these types of prescription medications are so popular and commonplace that students attending certain...
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...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...
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...Thus has resulted in opioids being the second most common initiated drug below marijuana, and leading the CDC to identify it as “worst drug epidemic in US history and becoming listed as one of their top five public health challenges” [21,22]. Why Should we be Concerned? This huge increase in opioid prescriptions and misuse over the last two decades is concerning. It has been shown that the increase in opioid prescriptions leads to increased treatment and overdoses from opioids, for instance, the amount of opioids sold per capita in a state is correlated with the number of drug related overdose deaths in that same state [14]. Thus major concern...
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...Proposition 46: Drug and Alcohol Testing of Doctors; Medical Negligence Lawsuits. If passed, this proposition would increase the state’s cap in medical negligence lawsuits from the current cap of $250,000 to over $1 million (including annual adjustment against inflation going forward). Additionally, it requires hospital physicians to be randomly drug tested and if tested positive, be reported to the California Medical Board for mandated discipline. Lastly, it would require that health care practitioners check a prescription drug history database before prescribing certain medications. The major supporters of prop 46 are trial lawyers, if passed they would be able to receive a higher award amount for their client and in turn receive and higher payout from their client. The major opponents of Prop 46 are healthcare workers and their malpractice insurance companies. If passed the health care workers may see their malpractice insurance cost rise and the insurance companies would have to pay out a significant amount more than what they are currently capped at. If malpractice insurance rises, health care provider’s prices for services will also rise. Prop 46 has good ideas but due to the possible increase in taxes and health care cost, voters will not approve prop 46 this election year. Supporters of prop 46 believe that it will save lives. The Legislature set the cap at $250,000 for pain and suffering malpractice claims in 1975 and never adjusted it for inflation. With...
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...The War on Drugs ShaLisa R. McCray COM/172 April 17, 2013 Nick Boden The War on Drugs Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, whether illegal or legal, with the intention of creating or enhancing the recreational experience. Many of the drugs used recreationally were intended to be used medically, to stimulate the mind, or to aide in military combat. Once the government realized the effect the drugs had on people they began to initiate regulations to control the substances they introduce the people to. As the government fought harder to control drug abuse by enacting more regulatory policies, the more people began to use and abuse drugs, inciting a war across the nation. The “War on Drugs” is the term the federal government uses to refer to their efforts to stop the import, manufacturing, sale, and se of illegal drugs in the United States. The term is not used reference to any particular policy or target but instead refers as a whole to the series of antidrug initiatives directed towards ending drug abuse. On November 27, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the International Committee on Narcotics which was accountable for coordinating executive branch antidrug efforts. This initiated what the New York Times labeled “a new war on narcotic addiction at the local, national, and international level”. During a press conference on June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon labeled illegal drugs as “public enemy number one in the United...
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