Prescription Painkiller Abuse By Americans On The Rise
Drug use has always been an alarming problem in the United States
. While many people have heard about the usual culprits such as marijuana and meth one shocking trend is the rise in prescription painkiller abuse. In fact this drug usage now holds the second most abused drug in our nation.Over the last decade prescription painkiller abuse has shown a rise of 400%. This increase doesn't show the normal factors for a reduction in abuse based on education, age, gender or other influencing backgrounds. With a blanket increase, it leads a person to wonder why there was a sudden increase in the overall problem.
When we look at the breakdown of gender and education we can get a better comprehension of the actual growth prescription painkiller abuse has seen. Keep in mind that these figures are only for those who admit to abusing the drugs. Men for example have shown a jump from 1.8% to 8.1%. Women in turn have shown a larger abuse rate of 3.5% jumping to 13.3%. In comparison, individuals who have a 8th grade or less education report a rise from 1.9 % increasing to 9.7%. For those who have a high school level education and beyond they have reported to have jumped from 3.8% to 12.1%.
One major trend that is occurring is the ease of obtaining these legal drugs. Many individuals are finding that doctors are prescribing them without any consideration to overall impact. Because of this, those who are prescribed the drug may only need one or two pills over the course of a day, and in turn will sell the remaining pills at a considerable street value.
Parents who are concerned about their children should take steps to lock away their drugs and prevent their children from having immediate access to them. One of the most common ways for children to begin their prescription painkiller abuse is by finding the products in their parents own medicine cabinet.
Pharmacies have taken steps to help curb the problem by limiting the refill of these drugs. Standard medications can usually be refilled in as little as 7 - 10 days before your prescription can be refilled. With pain killers they require the patient to wait until only two days remain in their possession. This helps to curb excessive abuse of the pills by the patient as well as discouraging illegal distribution of the pills.
The question becomes what can we do to stop this growing trend of problems? Doctors can begin by having stricter guidelines for prescribing the controlled substances. Try to control patient's pain with over the counter medications whenever possible and look for alternatives for prescription drugs.
Those who have access to prescriptions should use them wisely. If you allow your medications to be abused by others you are legally liable for selling the pill. This is a Felony and can hold jail time along with fines. There is a reason these pills are controlled, and should be taken seriously.
For anyone that has a prescription painkiller abuse problem, you should seek out treatment from a facility that is trained in assisting you with the addiction. Counseling and therapy are available that can help you before it's too late. While you might enjoy the high, these drugs can do permanent damage to your body and should only be used when genuinely needed and prescribed.
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