Thursday, 23rd February 2012
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Prescription Drug Abuse

We will be developing this page into a master resource and reference page with multiple articles, statistics and ongoing tracking of related news stories. We welcome your comments – if you know of a related story or if you run a blog and have also run a story on Prescription Drug Abuse, we will be happy to link to you!

Prescription Drug Abuse in the United States


by Stephanie Azarias

Prescription drugs are medications that require a prescription, as duly regulated by legislation. These medications, e.g., painkillers, sedatives, and stimulants, are effective and beneficial treatments for various health problems; however, non-medical use of these drugs can become very addictive and dangerous.

Drug abuse is a serious health concern in the United States. According to the data from National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 20.8% of the population aged 12 and older or as much as 52 million Americans reported non-medical use of prescription drugs at some point in their lifetimes. [1]

According to the report on prescription drug abuse by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the three most commonly abused prescription drugs are opiods, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants.[2]


  • Opoids or analgesics are medications designed to help manage pain, e.g., morphine, fentanyl, and codeine. They work by attaching to the opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, thus, changing the way a person perceives pain. Studies have shown that opioids can safely and effectively control pain when taken as prescribed; however, they can be fatal when misused or abused.

  • CNS depressants are medications that slow down the brain’s normal function. They enhance a certain neurotransmitter in the brain, i.e., gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), in order to produce a snoozing effect. In higher doses, they can be used as general anesthetics and pre-anesthetics. Complications with other drugs can slow heart rate and respiration, which can be fatal.
  • Stimulants are medications that accelerate heart rate and brain function, thus increasing a person’s energy levels. They work by enhancing the dopamines found in the brain. Taking stimulants in high doses can lead to irregular heartbeats, high body temperature, and/or cardiovascular collapse.

Read more about prescription drug abuse in the full report from NIDA.


References:

1. http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/DrugFact/prescrptn_drgs/rx_ff.html
2. http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/Painmed.html

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