Prescription Painkillers Research Paper

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Prescription pill abuse is on the rise in Georgia as well as throughout the United States. Overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed in the past ten years. What is worse is that nearly 15,000 people die from prescription painkillers a year. That is more than the total people who die from cocaine and heroin combined! Prescription pain pills include narcotics, stimulants and depressants, which are the most commonly abused. Statistics show that 1 in 20 people in the United States, ages 12 and older, abuse prescription painkillers. These drugs affect the brain and reach the opiate receptors which cause a release of dopamine which acts as a “excitatory neurotransmitter”. Dopamine produces feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and a feeling of euphoria. These feelings are only temporary and when they wear off the person feels much worse than they did before taking the pills. After prolonged use of narcotics, a persons body will start depending on the pills. If they are not in the system, withdrawal symtoms will occur. Withdrawal symptoms can include runny nose, agitation, nausea, muscle aches, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea,…show more content…
Florida is the number one state for dispensing prescription painkillers. In 2011, Florida dispensed 525,338,986 dosage units. Most of these were dispensed through pain clinics also known as pill mills. Georgia ranks number thirteen with 142,133,490 dosage units dispensed. Again, most of these were through pain clinics that have popped up all over the state. With Florida being the number one state, these clinics have naturally migrated into Georgia. Many of the clinics that have come to Georgia are actually funded by owners in Florida. The average patient that gets prescriptions at these clinics actually receive a combination of prescriptions. Not only do they get oxycodone but usually other drugs as well such as Roxicodone, Percocets, Vicodin, Demerol and

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