Many people believe prescription drugs are safe, but they can have dangerous side effects if they are overused. Many popular medications can become addictive. Millions of people are dealing with an addiction to prescription medications. More than 15 million Americans admit to overusing prescription drugs. Prescription drug abuse is almost as common as as illegal drug abuse. Sadly, many people are being admitted to hospitals for accidental overdoses of medications. Millions of people taking medications are not aware of the dangers of prescription drug addiction. Fortunately, when the dangers are recognized, people can take steps to cut back on prescription medications. The Dangers of Lortab and other Opioids Opioids affect the central nervous system. The …show more content…
The drug provides a high that is similar to being intoxicated. Overusing Valium can cause blackouts and even death if the drug is overused. Many people take Valium in conjunction with other drugs. Oxycodone Changes The Nervous System Oxycodone changes the way the central nervous system reacts to pain. The medication has a euphoric and sedative effect. The cost of the medication often leads people to obtain it through illegal means. One oxycodone pill can cost more than a hundred dollars. The Dangers of Demerol Demerol is similar to oxycodone. The drug provides immediately relieves pain, but overusing the medication can a resistance to the drug. People who overuse Demerol need higher doses of the medication to feel the pain relieving effects of the drug. The Popularity of Codeine Codeine is often found in prescription and over the counter cough syrup medications. The syrup is an opioid, and the drug is commonly added to soda at parties. The effects of the drugs cause an altered state of consciousness. The drug has been mentioned in several popular rap songs, and many people refer to codeine by the street mane purple drink. The Overuse of
In 2007, the total amount of oxycodone produced was a whooping seventy five tons. This number rose to over a hundred and twenty two tons in 2010. A more disturbing fact about Percocet is that it has hit women, adolescents and seniors more badly. In 2006, oxycodone pills sent over sixty four thousand patients to the Emergency Room (ER).
Oxycodone is just the government harnessing another revenue of income if they can take advantage of victims of addiction just to take what they have left. It is their choice whether they take the government's so-called help but as the author said “Through all this, patients were getting used to demanding drugs for treatment. They did not, however, have to accept the idea that they might, say, eat better and
As in Frankenstein the creation is undergoing a series of monster like actions and with Xanax users have trouble with speech ,keeping their balance at times , difficulty concentrating , depression , and suicidal ideation all come into play . Even though this drug is prescribed it is mostly abused by taking more dosage than given or consuming the drug when you should not be . Xanax is based on the chemical properties of alprazolam which was first released by UpJohn in 1981. At the time is was first given to calm panic disorders and within the first two years of its marketing Xanax became a blockbuster drug in the US. Xanax is a negative technological advancement which results in addiction , mental health problems , as well as death, to which anyone taking this medication needs to be aware of these
“ Because they produce euphoria in addition to pain relief, they can be misused. Regular use- even as prescribed by a doctor can lead to dependence ,and when misused, opioid pain relievers can lead to overdose incidents and deaths” (Drugabuse.gov/opioids) Prescribing opioids have more dangers to the human than they do
Underlying Causes: The increase in the sale of opioids is considered to be the root of the opioid crisis, as the drugs have been proven to be highly addictive. An addiction to prescriptive opioids, however, can lead to an addiction to synthetic, illegal opioids, such as heroine or fentanyl, which are less expensive and easier to acquire. In fact, in their journal article, “Associations of nonmedical pain reliever use and initiation of heroin use in the United States” Pradip Muhuri and associates discovered that “the recent (12 months preceding interview) heroin incidence rate was 19 times higher among those who reported prior nonmedical prescription pain reliever (NMPR) use than among those who did not (0.39 vs. 0.02 percent)” (Muhuri et. al). In other words, abusing prescription opioids significantly raises the chances of abusing illicit drugs, such as heroin.
From this we can conclude that the statistic of drug usage is way too high and may be the cause of more harmful effects such as overdoses. While alcohol is still a drug and still has the potential of being very dangerous heroin and other street drugs do not seem to be a adequate and safe substitute and is proven to be even more dangerous. When we look at Opioid and other drug use in America compared to other countries we notice that america is one of the leading countries in drug use around the
Drug diversion can pose fatal effects to someone’s life because in most cases the individuals breach the procedures of taking these drugs. These reasons clearly point why it is important to be familiar with cause for the alarm on opioid prescription drug misuse and addiction, before formulating ways to deal with the
Dependence on prescription opioids can stem from treatment of chronic pain and in recent years is the cause of the increased number of opioid overdoses. Opioids are very addictive substances, having serious life threatening consequences in case of intentional or accidental overdose. The euphoria attracts recreational use, and frequent,
Drugs such as Adderall is help for health purposes but taking it incorrectly or too much can cause major harm to the body. Everyday Health warns,“Adderall can increase your risk for heart problems, high blood pressure, and stroke. If the person taking Adderall has a history of a heart defect or other heart problems, there is a risk for sudden death.” It can also damage the mind and create mental problems that were not there before taking the medication. “Adderall may increase your risk for mental health problems, including depression, bipolar disorder, and unusual behaviors including aggressive or hostile behavior.
These pills, such as xanax and oxycodone allow people for short periods of time to withdraw from the harsh reality faced today. “Between 1997 and 2002, sales of oxycodone and methadone nearly quadrupled” (Okie). Around 15 years later and the prescription pill problem is continuing to skyrocket. Since prescription pills are dispersed out to anyone by doctors, many people do not realize that it is as much of an illicit drug as cocaine and heroin is. “Misinformation about the addictive properties of prescription opioids and the perception that prescription drugs are less harmful than illicit drugs are other possible contributors to the problem” (NIDA).
Prescription drugs (opiates only) have caused over 165,000 deaths within the last 15 years and is currently on the rise. Over 2 million Americans in 2014 were addicted to Opiate prescription narcotics. The most troubling fact is listed directly on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website: “As many as 1 in 4
According to nida.nih.gov (July 2020), depending on how someone takes a drug, it increases their chance of getting certain diseases such as HIV if they use injections or dental problems and if they smoke. Additionally, some drugs can also damage or destroy a person’s nerve cells in the brain or outside the brain. These are some of the physical effects substance abuse can cause. All these can increase risk of death and organ damage. Substance abuse doesn’t only affect someone physically but it can also affect someone mentally too.
The Prescription Drug to Heroin Pipeline Abusing or actually becoming addicted to prescription pain pills might start out as a back ache or some other pain. A doctor will give the patient a legitimate prescription for opioids or pain pills for a prescribed time period. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, prescriptions for opioid prescriptions skyrocketed from 76 million in 1991 to 207 million in 2013. There are signs that
The reason being that when drugs have been used, the chemicals that are in the drug permanently damage the way nerve cells send, receive, and process information. This could result in mental problems. Some being depression, personality disorders, or even suicidal thoughts. For example, teens addicted to drugs suffer from “Death from suicide, accidents, and illness much more often than other teens, than teens who avoid drugs. Teens who share needles and other drug paraphernalia can contract diseases such as HIV.
People who abuse any of these drugs have a higher probability to the exposure of HIV, viral hepatitis and other infectious agents through contact with infected blood or body fluids 7 that results from sharing contaminated syringes or engaging in unprotected sexual contact with an infected person. Apart from that, drug abuse makes the liver works harder in order to break down the poison that ingested or absorbed into the bloodstreams and filter toxins so that the body can absorb the healthy nutrients that remain. This possibly can cause significant damage to the liver as well as liver