The Abuse of Prescription Medication

The White House is still very much a part of the fight against drugs. They know just as well as anyone that drugs can be damaging, but they also know that the world is changing and just like cocaine was big in the 1980’s there are other drugs that are more important to focus on now. The big problem these days, as outlined by the center for disease control, is the abuse of prescription medication.

This is no laughing matter and it’s something that gets bigger every day. It’s the best way, when it comes down to it, to hide your addiction. It’s why it’s so attractive for people to get hooked on and it’s easy for people to stay in the addiction. The biggest reason being you can obtain in legally. If you are pulled over by a law enforcement officer and they ask you if you have anything in the car and you show them a prescription medication there is no consequence for that .

If you are looking for refills on your addictive medication you doctor can certainly give you a refill and will if they aren’t sure that you are addicted. It’s part of the issue that makes controlling the addiction that much more difficult. You have to look for signs and it’s not always easy.

The truth is that  until there is better information out there and concentrated efforts to control the abuse there will be an issue. It’s something that will continue to grow. Let’s hope we can figure out a way to stop it.

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Impact of Drug abuse on Families

Estimated arrests for drug abuse violations by...
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When people start using drugs for a purpose not intended to, it is referred to as drug abuse. Generally drugs are abused in order to have an euphoria (good feeling), alter thinking and behavior. Prolonged abuse of drugs will create drug dependence in the people and eventually they become addict to the drug. Apart from complicated medical problems, there are serious social problems created by such drug abuse.

Impact on Innocent Lives

Drug abusing women who are pregnant or lactating are actually exposing the fetus or infant to the harmful substances they are abusing. It can hinder the normal development of the fetus in the pregnant women. Children feeding on the breast milk of drug abusing or alcoholic mothers are found to have physical and mental developmental problems. Though the extent of the damage caused by alcohol or drugs has not been measured, there is evidence to establish the fact that drug or substance abuse leads to neurological, mental or behavioral problems in children.

Impact on Finances

Drug abusers may start to use the money set aside for essential functions of a family like food, rent, and education and so on for buying their abusive substance. As a result of this normal running of family by such abusive caretakers or family heads get affected and questions the family’s existence.

Family Environment

Children growing in an environment where parents are abusing the drugs are most probable to abuse drugs by themselves. As drug abusers neglect the children’s wellbeing they also get into depression or behavioral problems and take refuge in drugs or alcohol.

Violence in Family

Family relationships can be in danger due to uncontrollable behavior of the drug abusive member in the family. Abuse related discussions and arguments generally lead to quarrels, fighting and physical violence. Not only couples but even children get beaten up for no reason of their fault by the drug abusive member of the family.

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Why People Become Drug Addicts?

teenager-drug addicts
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People start using drugs in order to manage pain post-operation or post-trauma. However due to the euphoric feeling provided by these pain relievers, people start abusing the drugs for purposes other than pain relieving. People become addicted to the drugs due to the impact it creates on the central nervous system.

Drugs through Blood stream

There are various routes through which the abusive substances are administered into the body by the drug abusers. Drugs taken through blood stream are found to have immediate and immense effect on the person. Intravenous administration of drugs creates a greater rush of feeling than that of the oral drugs as it can easily and directly enter the brain of the person. When these substances are taken in empty stomach they can enter blood stream faster and thus creates more effect.

Neurotransmitters

Brain has numerous chemical substances that act as neurotransmitters which help in controlling the behavior of a person.

• Dopamine is one such neurotransmitter which regulates the movement and feelings like pleasure, energy and punishment. Cocaine, marijuana, heroin and other such drugs increase the levels of dopamine thus producing an euphoria.

• Noradrenaline is an excitatory neurotransmitter which arouses alerts and makes a person happy. Hence stimulant drugs induce these neurotransmitters.

• Serotonin is the neurotransmitter which regulates the moods. Alcohol, hallucinogens have an effect on this neurotransmitter.

• Endorphins are essential for pain relief and the substances like opioids and depressants affect neurotransmitter.
Effect of Drugs

Substances that are abused generally interfere, hinder or increase the activities of the neurotransmitters and receptors of the brain. For example, stimulant drugs increase the level of neurotransmitters above normal leading to an enhanced euphoric feeling. As these substances influence the way these neurotransmitters act or received by the receptors, the behavior of a person become uncontrollable and the person starts craving for the substance again and again in order to experience that feeling repeatedly.

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Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise (Drugs Rx)

Prescription medication (or drugs Rx) is generally used correctly and by the people who have been prescribed those drugs. However, statistics show that approximately 20 percent of people in America have used prescription drugs for reasons other than the conditions for which they were prescribed. This is considered abuse of prescription drugs. And it is a growing trend that is dangerous.

This could be the young woman who takes her brother’s ADHD medication as an appetite suppressant or the young man who finds painkillers prescribed to his father after a surgical procedure. Both assume that because these drugs were prescribed they must be safe. There’s also the assumption that because they are prescription drugs there’s no risk of addiction. However, there’s a very high risk of addiction especially with narcotic painkillers, stimulants, sedatives, and tranquilizers.

Additionally, some people experiment with these prescription drugs thinking it’s fun, they will help them lose weight, or they will help them to be accepted by their peers. And these drugs can be easier to obtain than illegal street drugs. These drugs can be obtained from friends and family. There are also many illicit websites that will sell these drugs online, even to youngsters.

Unfortunately many people who abuse these drugs ignore the fact that they are placing themselves in danger. These drugs are only safe for those for whom the prescription was written because a doctor examined that person and gave him or her the correct dosage for his or her specific condition. Doctors also usually monitor the patients for potential side effects and other complications.

While overdosing on drugs is a major risk, the chemicals and compounds in the prescription drugs can interact badly when taken in combination with other substances. Pharmacists and physicians can monitor any possible dangerous interaction of drugs, and this monitor cannot happen with people who are abusing drugs not prescribed for them.

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