The growing problem of prescription addiction greatly affects all of us. As prescription drug addicts are increasing in numbers, drugged driving is also a concern we previously didn't have to face as a nation. Prescription drug abuse has become such a problem the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
A primary way teens and adults get hooked on prescription drugs is via the medicine cabinet. Left over or unused prescription drugs are a serious matter of concern. Nearly one third of people age 12 and over trying drugs for the first time did so with prescription drugs.
Addiction Can Start After a Single Use
As many prescription drugs, particularly painkillers, are highly addictive, the road to addiction can start after a single use. As soon as the drug taker associates relief or pleasure with taking the drug he's liable to go on taking it to attempt to continue that same feeling. The truth of the matter is, the drug taker never quite reaches that same peak of "drug satisfaction" or "high" as he did with the first dose. Subsequent doses of the same amount don't satisfy, this leads the user into taking increased amounts of the same drug and to addiction.
April 30th is Take-Back-Day
The Drug Enforcement Administration has established a Take-Back-Day for unused prescription drugs to be safely disposed of at more than 4700 sites nationwide on April 30th, 2011. Collection sites can be found at www.dea.gov by clicking on the "Got Drugs?" banner at the top of their site. Last fall's collection resulted in disposal of 121 tons of unused prescription drugs. These drugs not properly disposed of could have easily tempted curious teens into taking drugs.
Although Take-Back-Day goes far in getting unused prescriptions out of circulation, the problem of our prescription drug addiction epidemic will take far more to resolve. For those addicted there is Narconon. Drug education is also a key component. However, along with drug education, new restrictions on the part of legislators for doctors and drug manufacturers must be put in place.
An example presented to a County Commissioner tells the tale. 3 substance abuse counselors each went to a different physician for a routine medical exam. They stated they worked long hours, sometimes didn't sleep well and work was often stressful. After a full exam and finding no medical conditions, due to their complaints each were given a prescription. In returning to the office and comparing the 3 prescriptions, each prescription was individually written for Xanax and Valium. The point being, prescription drug abuse has to be handled at the source.
A Simple Solution
Doctors are routinely heavily promoted to by drug company representatives. They are given perks and incentives, including dinners, concert tickets and the like. The general public is also advertised to for the same drugs. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics states some 25 billion is spent annually on advertising prescription drugs. The very fact of advertising prescription drugs points to the obvious that if the drugs were truly only given when medically necessary why would one be advertising it? The answer lies in the fact that profit and the bottom line largely dictate the direction of our nation's prescription drug problem. The epidemic will cease when drugs are no longer mass marketed and medicine focuses its attention back on curing ailments, not masking symptoms.
Banning excessive perks and promotion to doctors beyond the medical information necessary for a doctor to understand a new drug, as well as banning direct to the public advertising by drug companies, as did exist prior to 1997, would go far in addressing this prescription drug epidemic. The remaining steps of the White House 2011 Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention plan are all valid, a key step being education regarding prescription drug abuse.
The prescription drug epidemic is a multi-faceted problem, however, approaching it from the source on down greatly simplifies the solution.
If you would like more information on drug education or drug rehabilitation, contact Narconon East U.S. at 877-237-3307.
