Prescription Drug Abuse Critical Essay

Amy Thompson Speech 2 Oral Communications Prescription Drug Abuse Today I am going to talk to you about prescription drugs abuse. Many of us know people that take prescribed medication on a daily basis and I don’t know about you guys but I have seen people that have become addicted in which it’s sometimes painful to watch. No one decides to get addicted to prescription pain pills, sometimes a person’s body becomes immune the amount and that’s why they need more and more to help control the pain. What is prescription drug abuse?

According to NIH (National Institute on Drug Abuse), “Prescription drug abuse is the use of a medication without a prescription. ” From the website drugabuse. gov ,” In 2009, 16 million Americans age 12 and older had taken a prescription pain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant, or sedative for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration Web Site). The NIDA-funded 2010 Monitoring the Future Study showed that 2. 7% of 8th graders, 7. % of 10th graders, and 8. 0% of 12th graders had abused Vicodin and 2. 1% of 8th graders, 4. 6% of 10th graders, and 5. 1% of 12th graders had abused OxyContin for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. ” Prescription painkillers work by binding to receptors in the brain to decrease the perception of pain. These powerful drugs can create a feeling of euphoria, cause physical dependence, and, in some people, lead to addiction. Prescription painkillers also cause sedation and slow down a person’s breathing.

A person who is abusing prescription painkillers might take larger doses to achieve a euphoric effect and reduce withdrawal symptoms. These larger doses can cause breathing to slow down so much that breathing stops, resulting in a fatal overdose. Understanding the groups at highest risk for overdose can help states target interventions. Research shows that some groups are particularly vulnerable to prescription drug overdose: * People who obtain multiple controlled substance prescriptions from multiple providers—a practice known as “doctor shopping. * People who take high daily dosages of prescription painkillers and those who misuse multiple abuse-prone prescription drugs. * Low-income people and those living in rural areas. * People on Medicaid are prescribed painkillers at twice the rate of non-Medicaid patients and are at six times the risk of prescription painkillers overdose. 20,21 One Washington State study found that 45% of people who died from prescription painkiller overdoses were Medicaid enrollees. * People with mental illness and those with a history of substance abuse

There are many different types of prescriptions drugs people abuse and today I am going to tell you about the top drug classifications that people abuse and why they abuse them. How do people get addicted to them and what are some side effects of taking these drugs. First there are many different classifications that prescription drugs fall into. The most commonly abused are Opioids which are used for pain, Central Nervous System (also known as CNS) which are used for anxiety and sleeping disorders. The last type of classification is a stimulant and these are usually used for treating patients with Narcolepsy and ADHD.

The information about each one of these different classifications breaks down how the drug is used, why people use them and how some get addicted to them. Some of the Opioids include Fentanyl, which is often used to treat pain for either Cancer patient or a person who may have had surgery. Heroin is a type of drug similar to Fentanyl but Fentanyl is more addictive. This drug can be injected, eaten in a candy form or used as a patch. When using this prescription drug illegally you will find people either smoking or snorting it. The more Fentanyl you take the more you will need to continue to get high.

Excessive use of fentanyl can also cause extreme drowsiness, constipation, confusion, fatigue, nausea, and sedation. Fentanyl can also cause serious complications, such as coma, respiratory distress, and respiratory arrest. This is especially true in people who have not built up a tolerance to fentanyl, such as people taking a very large amount without having taken the drug previously. Hydrocodone/Vicodin is also classified as an Opioid and they are used to help relieve moderate to severe pain. Hydrocodone is the generic drug and Vicodin is Hydrocodone mixed with an acetaminophen.

Hydrocodone is plant based and is similar to Heroin. Some brand names are Lortab and Vicodin. This drug is taking orally in a tablet form and sometimes this drug is found in liquid form. According to the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administrations, “It has been shown in studies to be as effective as or more effective than Codeine and is nearly as strong as Morphine when it comes to pain relief. ” University of Michigan conducted a study, “Vicodin, a pain killer was the top prescription drug abused by high school seniors representing 8. 1% of all drugs (pharmaceutical and non-medical) used.

Stimulant Adderall followed at 6. 5%. Oxycontin/Oxycodone is a narcotic pain reliever used to treat moderate to severe pain. When abusers are using this drug they either crush the tablet to ingest or snort it also some are known to dilute it in water and inject it. It has become one of the most abused prescription drugs in the United States. Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants or sedatives will decrease or slow down brain activity by inhibiting the activity of other brain cells, resulting in drowsiness or calm. CNS depressants are commonly prescribed for anxiety and sleep disorders.

The most popular abused CNS depressants include Valium, Xanax and sleep medications like Ambien or Lunesta. Stimulants mimic and increase the chemical structures of specific brain neurotransmitters, allowing for messages to be sent to each other. Stimulants are often diagnosed to patients with ADHD and the most popular stimulants include Adderall and Ritalin. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” States that 100 people die from drug overdoses every day in the United States. ” In 2008 there were 14,800 prescription pain killers death.