Study Reveals Upsurge in Prescription Drug Abuse
Jim Kouri, CPP
October 20, 2005
The findings of the last National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated that the number of young adults abusing prescription drugs has increased substantially over previous years. This annual survey was of more than 65,000 people ages 12 and older.
The largest category of prescription drugs that are abused are painkillers. This includes drugs such as Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet, Percocet, Oxycontin (which increased by nearly 50%), Percodan and Hydrocodone to name a few. There were also well over a million people abusing methadone as well.
Next to painkillers, prescription tranquilizers, stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall, and sedatives made up the bulk of the remaining categories. This survey doesn’t include, however, the millions of Americans taking medically prescribed anti-anxiety drugs, anti-psychotics or antidepressants, which have their own list of side effects and have a potential of abuse.
The total estimated number of Americans dependent on drugs still remains in the range of 23 million, and with the spike in prescription drug use the US Drug Enforcement Administration has been working on ways to crack down on internet drug sales and many states are also seeking legislation to develop better prescription drug monitoring systems.
Over the last century there have been numerous drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for various types of treatments, only to later be pulled from the market or made illegal once the side effects are more closely examined or their harmfulness or addictive qualities fully revealed.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 20 million people needed but did not receive treatment for an alcohol or drug problem in 2003. Of the addicted individuals that enter treatment, many become frustrated because the lack of results, continued relapse or because they are being given one of the drugs in the categories mentioned above, which only temporarily relieves symptoms of the problem instead of fully resolving it.
The largest category of prescription drugs that are abused are painkillers. This includes drugs such as Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet, Percocet, Oxycontin (which increased by nearly 50%), Percodan and Hydrocodone to name a few. There were also well over a million people abusing methadone as well.
Next to painkillers, prescription tranquilizers, stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall, and sedatives made up the bulk of the remaining categories. This survey doesn’t include, however, the millions of Americans taking medically prescribed anti-anxiety drugs, anti-psychotics or antidepressants, which have their own list of side effects and have a potential of abuse.
The total estimated number of Americans dependent on drugs still remains in the range of 23 million, and with the spike in prescription drug use the US Drug Enforcement Administration has been working on ways to crack down on internet drug sales and many states are also seeking legislation to develop better prescription drug monitoring systems.
Over the last century there have been numerous drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for various types of treatments, only to later be pulled from the market or made illegal once the side effects are more closely examined or their harmfulness or addictive qualities fully revealed.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 20 million people needed but did not receive treatment for an alcohol or drug problem in 2003. Of the addicted individuals that enter treatment, many become frustrated because the lack of results, continued relapse or because they are being given one of the drugs in the categories mentioned above, which only temporarily relieves symptoms of the problem instead of fully resolving it.
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