Assignment 2: Community Planning

Running head: DRUG ABUSE

Drug Abuse

Name

Institution

Date

Prescription Drugs Abuse

There are different public health issues affecting different states; all with the same consequences. One of the most common public health issue experienced in my state is prescription drugs abuse. This isn’t only a state problem but a nation problem too. In the United States, approximately 2,000 youth of ages 12 to 17 have abused a prescription pain reliever every day for the first time (Drug-free-world, 2017). Addiction starts off with the initial decision to voluntarily take these prescription drugs. However, repeated continuous intake of the drugs a change in the brain’s normal functionality and patients has no control or ability to make sound decisions on whether or not he should take the drugs. In short, the patient experiences compulsive drug seeking and use.

To make the matters even worse most of these people end up getting addicted to these drugs without their knowledge. Some drugs commonly abused include; central nervous system (CNS) depressants such as benzodiazepines, opioids, common store drugs, and stimulants such as amphetamine. All these drugs are designed for other purposes such as pain treatment, treating anxiety and sleeping disorders, and treatment of attention deficit disorder ("Prescription Drug Abuse", 2017). A survey carried out in 2005 in the United States shows that approximetly 4 million teenagers admitted to taking prescription pain reliever, more than 2 million of them took a stimulant like Ritalin, and more than 2 million abused common store drugs such as cough syrup (“Drug-free-world”, 2017).

An estimation of more than 40 million people aged 12 and above have misused prescription drugs for non-medicinal purposes; almost 20% of Americans ("Prescription Drug Abuse", 2017). Sadly, this number is growing every day. Local and national hospitals have recorded increased number of patients being admitted to these hospitals after accidental overdoses. Programs for drug addictions treatment are also on the rise. Prescription drug abusers who began abusing at the ages of 11 years and 12 years end up meeting clinical criteria for addiction and prescription drug abuse treatment (“National Institute on Drug Abuse”,2017).

The total number of people abusing these drugs in the United States alone adds to a total of 15 million people. This number is higher than that of people abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants combined. A survey conducted in the year 2007 shows that 3.3 % of people aged 12 and 17 years old and in the past month 6% of those aged 17 and 25 had misused prescription drug (“Foundation for a Drug-Free World”, 2017).

All societies are affected the same by the prescription drugs abuse. One of the worst effects of specified drug abuse is death. Sources from the National Institute on Drug Abuse indicate that antidepressants, depressants, and opioids are responsible for more overdose deaths (45%) than street drugs (39%). The most affected age bracket happens to be the young people. Most of them believe that it is much safer using prescription drugs from their home cabinets that using illegal street drugs. However, this is not true. In the year 2005, a total of 1.4 million drug-related emergency room admissions were reported. However, approximately 0.6 million were associated with the abuse of prescribed drugs alone or taken by the patient with another drug especially alcohol.

The addition is one of the biggest effects of prescription drug abuse. Addition can be viewed from two perspectives when it comes to the amount of money spent. On one side, addicts use a lot of money trying to keep up with the rising tolerance by the body to the drug being abused. A good example is an oxycontin addict. The average street price for oxycontin is $1.15 per milligram. An oxycontin addict will use between 80 to 400 milligrams a day (“Foundation for a Drug-Free World”, 2017). Therefore, the total annual expenditure for such patients would be between $33,500 to $140,000. On the other side is the cost of treatment. An example is methadone whose annual maintenance treatment cost is approximately $4,700 per patient. Addiction patients require medical detoxification before rehabilitation. This process is in most cases very expensive and most families cannot afford the services. Withdrawal from the drugs may also have severe effects on the patients in terms of mental health. Therefore, it is advisable to seek supervision before withdrawing from these drugs.

In the United States, drug abuse includes prescribed drugs, is something taken very seriously by the lawmakers and implementers. These laws and policies regulate the use and distribution of prescribed and illegal drugs (Drugabuse.gov, 2017). Drug courts believe in rehabilitation instead of prison for the victims. However, those found deal with or supplying these drugs illegally pay huge fines or serve long jail terms. The main issues addressed by the policies in these rules and regulations include; specified drug abuse, methods of prevention and how the specific populations are affected. These policies are also used to education the masses about the harmful dangers and effects of drug abuse and sales ("Drug Abuse Policy", 2017).

The laws in place to ensure that the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs are curbed greatly supports the support given to the outpatients by the society and family. The treatment program is meant to help recovered addicts remain strong in their newly-found lives. Other policies that are in place to help with this problem include education in schools and societies, monitoring doctor shopping, proper medication disposal, and law enforcement by different agencies using the tools needed to eliminate improper practices regarding prescribed drugs.

According to the NIDA director Dr. Nora Volkow, these laws have significantly helped in the dropping cases and incidences of drug abuse in the United States as well as individual states, especially among the young people.

References

Drug Abuse Policy. (2017). DrugAbuse.com. http://drugabuse.com/library/drug-abuse-policy/

Drugabuse.gov. (2017). Summary. [online] Available at: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/misuse-prescription-drugs/summary [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017].

Foundation for a Drug-Free World. (2017). Watch Truth About Drugs Documentary Video & Learn About Substance Addiction. Get The Facts About Painkillers, Marijuana, Cocaine, Meth & Other Illegal Drugs.. [online] Available at: http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/prescription/abuse-international-statistics.html [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017].

Prescription Drug Abuse. (2017). WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/abuse-of-prescription-drugs#1

Prevention of Prescription Drug Overdose and Abuse. (2017). Ncsl.org. http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/prevention-of-prescription-drug-overdose-and-abuse.aspx

Talbott Recovery. (2017). 2015 Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics You Need to Know | Talbott Recovery. [online] Available at: https://talbottcampus.com/2015-prescription-drug-abuse-statistics/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017].