Prescription Drug Addiction
Prescription drugs include opioids, central nervous system depressants, and stimulants that are used in surgeries, as pain relief for the mass public, and as a way for chronically ill patients to control
symptoms. Using a prescription drugs as prescribed rarely leads to addictions. It is when prescription drugs are used inappropriately that stirs up problems. Generally, this kind of addiction is screened for and potentially prevented by doctors and pharmacists who write specific directions with the medications they prescribe, cross check to see if drugs have dangerous interactions, and do routine history-taking with questions about what prescriptions and why the patient is taking. Patients can do their part to prevent addiction by carefully reading over all the information provided with the prescribed drug by their doctor and pharmacist. Recent studies show unfortunate increases in prescription drug abuse. Among the elderly, misuse and misreading of directions tends to cause problems with abuse. Also, men and women have around the same percentage of prescription drug abuse except in the age group of 12-17 years old. In this group, women are more likely to use psychotherapeutic drugs without a prescription and more likely to become addicted to them.