Prescription Drug Abuse The purpose of this research is to persuade the population to take control with the use of the medications. The term drug abuse refers to using drugs with high frequency which can cause physical and/or mental harm to the user and/or impairs social functioning. Many people believe that drug abuse only involves illegal drugs, but in fact people often abuse prescription drugs. Marijuana and cocaine are no longer the only addictive drugs on the market. The most common drugs are pain killers, stimulants, depressants and antibiotics.
The use of these certain drugs such as hydrocodone, xanax, and others are becoming a threat to our society and stopping the wide distribution of these drugs seems to be a high priority to be looked into. How are these drugs given to the public without diagnosis or proper procedure?
Drugs: Is This A Brain Disease? Tameesha Phifer Axia College of University of Phoenix Drugs: Is This A Brain Disease? Today there are many types of drugs that are abused. When researching and interviewing different people, I have realized the causes of drug abuse as well as the effects of drug abuse. Many consequences when abusing drugs, whether one uses street drugs or medications he or she is bound to have troubles with people around him and the law.
UNIT 4222-609 OUTCOME 1 1.1 Identify the legislation which relates to substance use and describe the difference between legal and illegal drugs The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 This act is intended to prevent the non-medical use of certain drugs. For this reason it controls not just medicinal drugs (which will also be in the Medicines Act) but also drugs with no current medical uses. Offences under this Act overwhelmingly involve the general public, and even when the same drug and a similar offence are involved, penalties are far tougher. Drugs subject to this Act are known as 'controlled' drugs. The law defines a series of offences, including unlawful supply, intent to supply, import or export (all these are collectively known as 'trafficking' offences), and unlawful production.
Many of the drugs that are abused by our youth were manufactured and marketed to Americans by big pharmaceutical companies. These drugs are supposed to be used to lessen pain, but more times than not they are prescribed with little regard to the risks they pose. This is where the problem lies, doctors throwing prescriptions to people for small injuries which in turn into a dependency problem. ”Drugs like fentanal, codene, oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone (which is used to help treat people with opioid addictions) together are linked to 75% of prescription drug overdoses each year. These dangerous drugs are all over our streets in urban and in rural parts of the U.S.
Psychoactive – cannabis is usually smoked in a roll-up or pipe. It is also frequently ingested orally. Effects: stoned, increased heart rate, reduced blood sugar level, decreased sensory awareness, increased sensory awareness, etc. Street name Effects Risks Alcohol Booze Relaxant, feel less anxious and more sociable Slurred speech, nausea, psychological and physical dependence Amphetamines Speed, whizz, billy, uppers Euphoria, increased energy Anxiety, panic, paranoia Benzodiazepines Blues, downers, tranqs Sedation, relaxation Quickly develop
One feature that many do not realize is that many prescription pills classify under categories such as stimulants, depressants, and narcotics. The main difference lies in its name. If one is not knowledgeable to medicine, he or she may not realize that pills such as Vicodin, Lithium, Valium, Ambien, Oxycodone, etc. fall under such criteria. For instance, Vicodin and Oxycodone help alleviate pain that classifies them as a narcotic in its simplest form.
The Physiological aspect is another factor of addiction a user goes through. In the textbook, Physiological addiction is “ a model of drug dependence based on the idea that the drug abuser continues the drug-taking behavior to avoid the consequences of physical withdrawal symptoms.” (F. Levinthal , 2012) It is very noticeable to see the physiological toll the body has when it is addicted to a certain type of drug. The body can experience chills and fevers, hypertension, seizures, anxiety and even more serious, chemical imbalances. Drug abuse permanently alters the chemistry of the brain causing chemical imbalances. If it is not treated, the imbalances that develop in the brain do not go back to normal cause the person to feel extreme anxiety, paranoia and
Schizophrenia is a serious, reoccurring brain disease that affects up to one percent of the world population today (Mental Health America, 2011).Schizophrenia is often misunderstood among the general public and can easily slip past concerned friends or family members of the patients suffering with this disease. Many signs of schizophrenia are closely related to that of depression or even laziness (National Mental Health Institute, 2007). Major indicators of the disease that persist for at least two weeks include: the constant hearing of voices and the feeling of being watched, feeling of indifference to very important problems, changes in personal interest abruptly or mass changes in personal hygiene, and bizarre behavior or new obsession with
Virtually every medication presents some risk of undesirable side effects, sometimes even serious ones. Doctors consider the potential benefits and risks to each patient before prescribing medications, but even then if taken for long periods of time they can have an effect on your ability to see clearly. What makes it worse is that people who abuse drugs might not understand how these factors may affect them or that prescription drugs do more than cause a high, help them stay awake, help them relax, or relieve pain. Another problem is that many drug abusers take more than one drug at a time and this can cause serious consequences, one of which is death. Every 14 minutes someone dies because of prescription pills.