Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription Drug Abuse

Shannon Malone

COM150

May 16, 2010

Michelle Vanderhoof

Prescription Drug Abuse

In years past, prescription drug abuse was rarely heard of. There were the rumors surrounding Elvis Presley’s death. Heart attack brought on by years of bad eating habits and being obese, or heart attack brought on by taking too many pills. It was once said in the year prior to his death, Elvis had more than 400 prescriptions. Marilyn Monroe is another person rumored to have died from prescription drug overdose. Many people then just presumed the Hollywood lifestyle consisted of street drugs. Prescription drug abuse is no longer the quiet addiction; it is a problem that does not discriminate against any age, race, or economic background.

Prescription drugs treat, heal, and prevent. Prescribed medications are beneficial for so many conditions. People in chronic pain use prescription pain medication to help them live a life with less pain. Diabetics take insulin to manage their blood sugar levels. HIV+ patients use a “cocktail” of medications to keep the AID virus at bay. [Nearly half off all Americans take at least one prescribed medication. One in six takes three or more.] (Longley, 2010) The good news with this is study shows Americans health continues to improve; we are living longer because of medications.

More and more adults are using prescription drugs to control blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and deal with depression. When medication is taken the way it was prescribed, and for what it is prescribed, medications become lifesavers; but when they are used in ways other than the prescribed intention, they can produce serious health risks like addiction and sometimes death. The most commonly prescribed medication abused by adults and teens are [pain relievers like Vicodin and Oxycontin, stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall, and central nervous system depressants like Valium and Xanax.]...