Hanna Giolas

Professor Paul Roberts

Life, Society and Drugs

1 May 2017

Prescription Drug Abuse

Throughout the years, there have been many instances of drug abuse throughout the

world. Although drug abuse has been tried to be stopped through different programs, it is still

prevalent today. One issue that is a major problem in todays society is the abuse of prescription

drugs.

Three of the most misused medications are opioids, which are usually prescribed to treat

pain, central nervous system depressants, used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders, and

stimulants which are most often used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders. From my

own observation, central nervous system depressants and stimulants seem to be the most

common among younger people, such as people in high school and college. When I was in high

school, I heard many people talking about taking Adderall, which is prescribed to people who

have ADHD, before taking a test. Some of the people took it so often that it became something

they did on a day-to-day basis. Ways that this was ingested was orally and sometimes even

smashed into a powder to be snorted. By snorting Adderall, the medicine was activated much

faster than just taking it orally. Because you can not get a stimulant without a prescription, many

of the people who were prescribed were not using it for themselves, but selling it to other kids at

the school. I have also found stimulants common within college students. When studying for a

big test coming up, one may take these drugs so they can stay up studying without feeling tired.

The drug Adderall has become such a common drug that kids have now started promoting it on
their social media for anyone who wants it. The other prescription drug that was common among

high school students was central nervous system depressants or different medicines for anxiety.

Almost anyone can be prescribed medicine for anxiety if they show the right symptoms.

Symptoms include stress that's out of proportion to the impact of the event, inability to set aside

a worry and restlessness. Anyone could look up the symptoms of anxiety and express them to a

doctor to be prescribed anxiety medication. If these anxiety drugs are properly used, they can be

safe and helpful for the person who needs them. Once they are abused, they can become very

addictive and dangerous.

In the past fifteen years, prescription drug misuse has increased dramatically which has

also created an increase in emergency room visits and overdose deaths associated with

prescription drugs. Unintentional overdose involving prescription drugs has more than

quadrupled since 1999 and have also outnumbered those who overdose on heroin and cocaine.

Out of those who were using prescription drugs, only twelve percent met the criteria for the

prescription drug use disorder. In a report done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it was

estimated that about 54 million people, more that 20 percent of those aged 12 and older, have

used prescription medications at least once. In a 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,

it was estimated that 2.1 million Americans has used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons

within the past year. A reason that so many people are using prescription drugs for nonmedical

uses is because they are so easy to get a hold of. They are also legal if they are prescribed to you,

which makes it a lot easier to get away with. There is also misinformation on the use of these

drugs. People think that because they are legal and used for medicinal purposes, there will be less

harm than illicit drugs. Although this is true if they are taken properly and when needed, they can

be highly addictive and have dangers and negative side effects. It has been found that the use of
these drugs is highest among adults aged 18 to 25. In the NIDAs Monitoring the Future survey,

they found that about 1 in 13 high school seniors reported nonmedical use of the prescription

stimulant Adderall and 1in 23 reported misusing the opioid pain reliever Vicodin. Multiple

studies have found that people who misuse prescription drugs are at higher rates of smoking

cigarettes, underage drinking, using marijuana, using cocaine and other illicit drugs. In a study

done by DAWN, they reported that more than 1.2 million ED or emergency department visits

were because of prescription drugs. This represents about 50 percent of all ED visits related to

drug abuse. About 488,000 of the Ed visits involved opioid pain relievers which had tripled since

the year before. ED visits related to central nervous system stimulants nearly quadrupled from

41,000 to 422,000 visits. This is a 138 percent increase than the year before. Of these visits, 85

percent involved benzodiazepines. These numbers show just how serious the issue of

prescription drugs has become and is continuing to rise.

Although prescriptions drugs are legal, if they are abused, the result can be very

dangerous. Opioids are one of the most abused prescription medicines. Opioids are used to help

treat pain and is very addictive. One of the dangers of opioids is the person is able to build up a

tolerance. If the person takes opioids for an extended amount of time, they will notice that the

medicine no longer has the same effects as it did when they started taking the medicine. This

causes people who are addicted to the drug to increase the dosage of what they are taking.

Because this is not consulted with a doctor, it can be very dangerous. People who abuse opioids

can experience more pain sensitivity. Because the body gets used to the drug, it no longer works

properly, so even if you are still taking the medicine you could be an extreme amount of pain,

which causes a person to increase their dosage. If opioids are taken in large doses, it can lead to

hypoxia. Hypoxia is a condition where a decreased amount of oxygen is able to reach the brain.
One researcher stated, Hypoxia can have short- and long-term psychological and neurological

effects, including coma and permanent brain damage. Another risk of opioid abuse is the risk of

having seizures. The NIDA stated, Taken as prescribed, opioids can be used to manage pain

safely and effectively. However, when abused, even a single large dose can cause severe

respiratory depression and death. The abuse of opioids can cause many issues and extreme

cases, even death. Central nervous system prescription drugs have a high rate of abuse as well.

When these drugs are taken regularly, much like opioids, these drugs lead to a tolerance. People

now have to take increasingly larger doses of the medicine to get the same relief as they did

before. Abusing the drug itself can have many risk factors but if you suddenly stop taking the

medicine after abusing it, the withdrawals can be dangerous as well. The withdrawals include

increased anxiety or restlessness and shaking, insomnia, confusion, stomach pain, depression,

panic attacks, pounding heart, sweating and in more severe cases, seizures. One of the most

common abused prescription drugs are stimulants such as Adderall. When taking doses which are

more than prescribed or if you are not supposed to be taking them at all, it can increase the brain

dopamine in an amplified manner which is similar to the drug use of methamphetamine. This

disrupts the normal communication between brain cells which produces euphoria. Stimulants can

increase blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, decrease sleep and appetite. When abused,

they can lead to malnutrition because the person abusing the drug no longer has an appetite. If

stimulants are taken in high doses for a long amount of time it can lead to feelings of hostility

and paranoia. It can also cause serious cardiovascular compilations and strokes. Much like

opioids and central nervous system drugs, stimulants can have dangerous withdrawal symptoms

as well. Withdrawal symptoms include fatigue, depression, and disturbed sleeping patterns. If the

pill is crushed and injected, that can cause a block in small blood vessels which can lead to other
serious health concerns. All of these drugs can have major dangers if used incorrectly and can

lead to addiction and death.

Prescription drug abuse is a serious issue and should be something people pay more

attention to it. They are one of the highest on the list of drugs that people abuse but people are

not aware of this. I think when programs such as DARE are held, they should also talk about the

health risks of abusing prescription drugs because it is problem that is very prevalent in younger

people, such as people in high school and college. If people become more aware of how big of an

issue this has become, we can do more to help decrease the use of prescription drugs.