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Prescription Drugs

Alexis Cox

Baker College
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Prescription Drugs

Many people are familiar with prescription medications; almost everyone has taken them

at one point during their lifetime. Prescription drugs can become very addictive if they are not

directed correctly and taken appropriately. Prescription drug abuse is the use of prescribed

medication in the wrong manner; people may take a larger dose, use someone else’s medication,

or use prescribed drugs to elevate one’s state of mind. The abuse rate of prescribed drugs

continues to rise and has created an epidemic in the world because of careless decisions made by

doctors and users around the world. Prescription drugs should be supervised under a physician’s

guidance due to the fact that medications can cause negative effects such as addiction, physical

dependence, and death.

Drugs that are most commonly abused are opioid painkillers and sedatives. Opioid

painkillers are typically prescribed when an injury occurs or when surgery is performed, and the

patient needs to ease the pain. Sedatives are typically prescribed when someone has trouble

sleeping or needs a calming medication. Drugs such as opioids and sedatives are typically not

carefully prescribed to patients. Doctors may be in a rush and think that a written prescription

will solve all problems. On the other hand, sometimes people will lie to their doctor about

symptoms in order to receive a prescription for an addictive drug. It is a physician’s job to be

aware of the potential harms of these drugs, to warn patients of the dangers, and to take

precautions when prescribing.

Addiction can be viewed as the change in behavior due to chemical imbalances in the

brain of someone who is abusing a substance. People may act irrationally when they do not have

the substance that they abuse in their system. Throughout the years, natural differences among

individuals have now become “disabilities” that need to be corrected. In consequence, “over the
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past fifteen years there has been unprecedented growth in the prescribing of addictive

medications (such as opioids, benzodiazepines, and stimulants) and in drug overdose” (Lagisetty,

2017, p. 1). The careless prescribing of these medications has caused an outbreak in drug

overdoses. Many natural phenomena’s such as difficulty sleeping and small fluctuations in mood

can be overcome within a matter of time, but doctors are simply prescribing addictive

medications. This solution that doctors are offering patients with is dangerous due to the large

potential for addiction. Many people become addicted to strong prescription drugs, such as

opioids, and continue to abuse their prescriptions. “Among the patients suffering with chronic

pain and receiving opioids, 1 in 5 abuse prescription-controlled substances and approximately

the same number of patients also use illicit drugs” (Manchikanti, 2007, p. 402). The statistics are

startling to understand that friends and family can easily become addicted to their medication.

Without the correct diagnosis and prescription, it can be so easy for patients to abuse their

dosage when their pain is not quite tolerable. Prescription drugs need to be closely monitored by

a doctor due to the rising rate of people who abuse prescription medications.

Along with addiction, a physical dependence can take a hard hit on medical and

nonmedical drug abusers. The physical dependence on a substance is characterized by tolerance

and withdrawal factors. Many will use prescribed drugs for pleasurable after-effects which

creates the addiction aspect that leads to their physical dependence on the substance. “Users will

gravitate toward substances that provide a ‘high.’ Initial experimental use is then followed by

development of tolerance and increasing use” (Li, Moukaddam, Parks, & Shah, 2018, p. 380).

People that abuse their medication will continue to develop the need for higher doses because

they become tolerant of their original dose. This creates the potential for an increase in overdoses

as people become unaware of the side effects associated with larger doses of medications. While
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people misuse medication to achieve a “high”, many people still truly need medication to relieve

pain. Society has dictated that pain is undertreated and that there needs to be a change. “Despite

the alleged undertreatment of pain, based on the present statistics, it appears that opioids are

overprescribed” (Manchikanti, 2007, p. 401). Opioids are used to treat severe amounts of pain

for patients and they have been found to be overprescribed by doctors. As opioids continue to be

prescribed at higher rates, more and more people become reliant on these drugs. When these

people become reliant on opioids, there is a higher request for refills on prescriptions. The

medical system is broken in the medication aspect of the field. Doctors should be taking a larger

precaution when prescribing medications to patients and they should be considering the negative

factors that can result, such as dependence.

While prescription drugs can create high addiction and dependence risks, the greatest risk

of all is death. The increased rate of prescribed medication users creates a higher rate for possible

drug overdoses. Most drug overdoses result in death if the person does not get immediate

medical attention. This means increased numbers of death that can easily be prevented year by

year. “In addition to morbidity, mortality is a significant consequence of nonmedical use of

prescription drugs. During 1999-2006, the number of deaths due to poisoning in the United

States nearly doubled, from ~20,000 to ~37,000” (Hernandez & Nelson, 2010, p. 310). Health

risks and death risks are a direct consequence of using drugs in the wrong manner and the

numbers are continuously rising throughout the United States. People may take painkillers or

calming medications to seek pain relief or ease anxiety and many people abuse the dosage which

can likely result in an unfortunate overdose. According to data from medical examiners and the

records of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) and opioid treatment programs,

“the majority of drug overdose-related deaths in West Virginia in 2006 were associated with
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nonmedical use and diversion of prescription opioid analgesics” (Hernandez & Nelson, 2010, p.

312). Overdose deaths are not always associated with prescribed drugs, in fact, there is a large

percentage associated with illicit drug-related overdoses, but the majority of overdose deaths

result from prescription medications. Raging statistics like these create strong-opinioned doctors

who typically stay away from prescribing unnecessary medication, which is what is needed in

the world. On the other hand, there are still many physicians that don’t take enough precaution or

care when writing prescriptions which create these rising statistics.

Not everyone agrees that prescription drugs can become addictive and are bad for overall

health. Some doctors, drug companies, and users of prescribed drugs may argue that the benefits

outweigh the risks and medications will always cure the issue. It is true that prescribed

medications have the ability to treat symptoms, but only to a certain extent. “The benefits of

medicines are the helpful affects you get when you use them, such as lowering blood pressure,

curing infection, or relieving pain” (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2018, para. 2).

Medication helps to treat symptoms in the body that a person may be experiencing but the

potential risks still remain. The risk that something unwanted or unplanned could happen is still a

high possibility. “Risks could be less serious things, such as an upset stomach, or more serious

things, such as liver damage” (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2018, para. 2). Serious risks

can lead to extreme illness and even death. While some risks are not very serious, they are still a

risk. Patients will always be at risk when putting something foreign into their bodies. Drugs can

certainly be helpful to patients in need, but the risks have the possibility to engage addictive

properties and destruct a person’s health.

Overall, society should be aware of the consequences that can arise from taking

prescription drugs and take into consideration the negative health aspects. Effects such as
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addiction, dependence, and death can result from prescribed medication when they are not

guided properly by a professional. Physicians have a job to inform patients of potential risks and

benefits of medication and what outcomes can arise from usage. This epidemic that has been

created around the world needs to be put to a stop. Simple knowledge about prescription drug

usage might save a life, or many lives, in the future.

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References

Hernandez, H. S., & Nelson, S. L. (2010). Prescription drug abuse: Insight into the epidemic.

Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 88(3), 307-317. Retrieved from <ProQuest>.

Lagisetty, P. (2017). Spreading blame for prescription drug abuse. Health Affairs; Chevy Chase,

36(3), 1-2. Retrieved from <ProQuest>.

Li, T. B., Moukaddam, N., Parks, D. L. K., & Shah, A. A. (2018). When treatment turns to

addiction: Emerging issues in over the counter & prescription drug abuse. Psychiatric

Annals, 48(8), 379-383. Retrieved from <ProQuest>.

Manchikanti, L. (2007). National drug control policy & prescription drug abuse: Facts and

fallacies. Pain Physician, 10, 399-424. Retrieved from <ProQuest>.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2018). Think it through: Managing the benefits & risks of

medication. Retrieved from < https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-information-

consumers/think-it-through-managing-benefits-and-risks-medicines>.