According to the a new report from the Trust for America’s Health, the number of people in America who died from taking prescription pain killers doubled in 29 states between 1999 and 2010, and prescription drugs are the most commonly abused substance–after marijuana and alcohol–for Americans ages 14 and older. The same report noted that fatalities from overdose of painkillers outnumber deaths from heroin and cocaine combined.
Prescription drug abuse has been called an “epidemic” in America, with opioid pain killers (Vicodin, Oxycontin) being the most often abused. Other drugs frequently abused are stimulants prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) including Adderall, Concerta and Ritalin; and central nervous system depressants such as Valium and Xanax.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines four ways in which these drugs are abused:
- Taking a medication prescribed for someone else
- Taking a drug in a higher dosage than prescribed
- Taking a drug in a different manner than prescribed (for example, crushing pills and snorting or injecting them) and
- Taking a drug to get “high”
When taken as prescribed for a specific mental or physical condition prescription drugs are safe and effective. When they are taken in larger quantities, in a different manner or when no illness or symptoms are present, they affect the brain in the same way that illicit drugs do and cause cravings in the same way that heroin does.
When these prescription drugs are abused, they trigger dangerous physical consequences: Opioids can cause severe constipation and depress breathing; mixing them with alcohol amplifies this effect and can lead to death. Stimulants raise the body’s temperature and cause seizures and heart failure. And CNS depressants slow both the heart rate and respiration, also leading to death when taken in quantities larger than prescribed.
Most deaths caused by prescription drug abuse are due to unintentional overdoses. Over time, a person taking a drug to “get high” will require a larger quantity to achieve the same effect and may not realize they have a dangerously high level of the drug in their system.
If you’re concerned that someone you love is abusing drugs, please contact us. We can answer questions you may have and also provide drug testing kits and supplies.