As we all know prescription drugs are prescribed by a doctor for pain. But here recently people have been taking pain and nerve pills to get high. There have been many people die while being on pain pills, because of overdosing. Prescription drug abuse is a serious and growing problem. Narcotics, sedatives, tranquilizers, and stimulants can all lead to drug addiction. Prescription drug abuse is growing because doctors are prescribing more drugs than ever before, because online pharmacies make it easy to get prescriptions and the growing number of pain clinics. According to Lois White in her book “Foundations of Nursing: Caring for the whole person” she states barbiturates are less prescribed but more abused and are available on the illegal market (White 1221).
This topic is very close to me. I am from Pikeville, Kentucky and in this town that is all you see. People are destroying their lives because of prescription pills. I have had so many family members affected by drug abuse. Not only do we have to worry about the people taking drugs, we also have to deal with the emotions we are feeling. According to the Institute of Addiction Medicine, in 2007 2.1 million people had misused pain relievers, and two million people are Opioid dependent (“Institute of Addiction”). I can remember when I was 13 years old and realizing my dad had a drug problem. I’ve had to deal with his drug problem for the last eight years. No matter how much I begged him to quit, he never did. I have had to deal with his lying, stealing, and cheating; that was very hard on me and my sisters. “The abuse of prescription drugs, primarily Hydrocodone and Oxycodone, remain one of the largest problems in Southeastern Kentucky” (Drug Rehab Kentucky). Prescription drug abuse is a very dangerous addiction. According to Richard Wilson in his book “Drug abuse prevention: A school and community partnership”, they tend to slow things down. They can cause the body to slow down to the point of respiratory failure (Wilson 88).
I researched prescription drug abuse to inform others of the dangers with this addiction. This information will be useful to anyone that has family or friends that suffer with prescription drug addiction.
Prescription drug abuse is something that everyone has to deal with in one way or another. It is destroying lives and families, and something has to be done about it. Addiction affects the old and young alike. If people with prescription drug addiction could see and feel the pain they are causing their families you would think they would turn their lives around, for their families.
Works cited
“Drug Rehab Kentucky, Alcohol Treatment Drug Recovery Rehab Facilities. “Drug Rehab
Alcohol Drug Rehabilitation Addiction Treatment Programs. Web. 10. Sept. 2011.
Institute of Addiction Medicine. Web. 10. Sept. 2011. http://www.ioam.org/statistics.html>.
White, Lois. Foundations of nursing: caring for the whole person. Albany, NY: Delmar/Thomson Learning, 2001. Print.
Wilson, Richard W., and Cheryl A. Kolander. Drug abuse prevention: a school and community partnership. Sudbury, Mass.:Jones and Batlett, 2000. Print.
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