A Force to Be Reckoned with: Prescription Drug Abuse in Today's Society

A Force to Be Reckoned With:

Prescription Drug Abuse in Today’s Society

Elizabeth VanDevender

COM/156 UNIVERSITY COMPOSITION AND COMMUNICATION II

Illegal use of drugs in our country has been documented as far back as the 1800’s. From marijuana to heroin, our society has seen the popularity of many different drugs come and go. It used to be a topic that was not discussed much and was even kept hush-hush, but that all changed in the 60’s when it became such a widespread problem, our country considered it an epidemic with the potential to destroy our society. Each era has had different drugs that were the most popular or the biggest problem. It was acid in the 60’s, marijuana in the 70’s, cocaine in the 80’s, methamphetamines in the 90’s and then prescription drug abuse brought in the new millennium. By 2010, approximately 7 million Americans were abusing prescription drugs (drugabuse.gov). The abuse of prescription drugs created a whole new level of problems for those in the medical field because they were now faced with the question of whether they were treating a patient or supplying an addict. Not everyone abuses their prescriptions they are given, obviously, but telling who does can be very difficult for doctors to determine. They have to be very alert for signs of appropriate treatment with medications turning in to inappropriate use of them by their patient. I can personally attest that it can be easy to convince a doctor that a person’s documented condition has progressed to the point of needing an increase in medication. I have battled my own addiction to prescription medications since 2007. People begin abusing prescription drugs for different reasons, but the progression of the process and results from it tend to be the same.

Prescription drugs are third highest abused substance in America today following marijuana and alcohol (NIDA). It is a problem that is very misunderstood and under estimated. There was a time that alcoholism was the...