I can not explain the amount of anger I feel when, I read about a drug overdoses. Especially when the drug is a prescription pill that was either given to that by the doctor or sold by someone who did have authorization to obtain the drug.
I often wonder how doctors determine which pill is suitable for a patient. Trial and error was the observation when I went to see my family doctor. I was experiencing anxiety, and told my doctor of the issues I was having. Almost immediately, I was offered Xanax. Xanax treats moderate and severe anxiety. Side effects include dizziness, dis-inhibition, suicidal ideation, hallucinations, slurred speech, drowsiness etc.
As soon as I heard that word my jaw dropped. I immediately shook my head, no that I didn't want that. I heard to many horror stories about friends becoming addicted. In 2002: 3,340,000,000 outpatient prescriptions were written by doctors. Without even checking to see if I had a history of drug abuse, I was already being offered a drug many abuse and sell. Prescription drug abuse is the #4 leading cause of death. Sales of prescription medicines worldwide rose 7% to $602 billion, according to IMS health, a pharmaceutical information and consulting company. Xanax is not the only cause for concern there are many others. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) 2004 Monitoring the Future survey, 9.3 percent of 12th-graders reported using Vicodin without a prescription in the past year, and 5.0 percent reported using OxyContin. Another recent survey reports that approximately 48 million people-about 20 percent of the U.S. population-aged 12 or older had used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons in their lifetimes.
I can share stories upon stories, about the friends I have had with addictions. They love to enlighten other on how they got there drug of choic. Often they went into the walk in clinic, their doctor, or even the emergency room just to get pain killers. Guaranteed the epidemic has been noted and doctors are aware of the new way to obtain drugs. The problem is addicts and dealers are getting a hold of them and our moms, dads, brothers and sisters are becoming its prisoners.
The realization of prescription drug abuse really hit home, when I received news Saturday afternoon that a good friend overdosed. The drugs used were prescribed to him and the other to his friend. He fatally made the decision to mix drugs and was found the next morning. Seeing a young person lose their life to addiction and abuse is probably one of the hardest to deal with. Close family and friends stood asking questions, but we all knew. We all new that a large percentage of Sheboygans youth has fallen to prescription drug abuse. Parents fuel the fire by leaving their pills laying out and doctors by prescribing powerful and highly addictive drugs to millions of Americans. Doctors are prescribing the pills, but are not even communicating with psychologists or psychotherapists on the proper treatment for the feeling and emotions a person is experiencing.
Doctors prescribe to many pills to millions of Americans everyday. We just eat them up and presume the problem will be corrected. Its leading to abuse, addiction and eventually death. The availability is outrageous and the use and abuse is sickening. According to the NIDA, "The number of new nonmedical users of pain relievers increased drastically-from 573,000 in 1990 to 2.5 million in 2000."
In 2006, a total of 38,396 persons died of drug-induced causes in the United States. This category includes not only deaths from dependent and non dependent use of legal or illegal drugs, but also poisoning from medically prescribed and other drugs.
The numbers continue to increase for outpatient prescriptions, along with the number of drug overdoses added to the death toll. Families and friends will continue to fall into the vicious routine of pills and become prisoners to something smaller than a dime.
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