Prescription Drug Abuse in Jersey City, NJ (201) 492-6604
The public at large associate drug abuse with illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine. What many people are unaware of is that the numbers of people who engage in prescription drug abuse exceed those for illegal drug abuse. According to figures published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2013 more than 2.04% of the adult population engaged in prescription drug abuse. That means over 6.5 million people admitted to prescription drug abuse.
What is Prescription Drug Abuse?
Authorities define prescription drug abuse as using these drugs in a way that is not prescribed. This means there are numerous uses of prescription drugs that would be considered abuse. These include:
- using prescription drugs that were intended for use by another person
- attending different doctors to get additional prescriptions
- forging prescriptions
- stealing other people’s prescriptions
- pretending to be ill to get a particular prescription
- taking more than the prescribed dose
- taking drugs more often than prescribed
- taking drugs for longer than prescribed
At the more serious end of the scale of prescription drug abuse, people may inject, snort or smoke prescription drugs to increase their potency. Another serious form of abuse is mixing prescription drugs with other drugs or substances to increase their potency.
What are the Most Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs?
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the most commonly abused prescription drugs are opioids. Opioids are the painkillers of choice for most doctors. Opioids are effective in the short term at treating moderate to severe pain. Popular brands include OxyContin and Vicodin.
More people become addicted to opioid prescription drugs than to any other kind of prescription drugs. This may be down to the way the body deals with opioids. Opioids affect the functioning of the reward centers of the brain. However, the effects of a particular dose diminish fairly quickly when an opioid drug is used persistently because the brain becomes tolerant to the drug.
When this happens, people have to take more of a particular opioid to get the same pain-relieving effect. This is a perpetual cycle that can quickly get out of hand. People who start off with relatively low doses of opioid drugs can quickly end up taking very large quantities.
Other types of prescription drugs that people commonly abuse include central nervous system depressants and stimulants. The former include drugs like Valium that are used to treat anxiety, while the latter include drugs like Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD.
Dangers Associated with Prescription Drug Abuse
Addiction is a serious and chronic illness that causes many problems. Prescription drug abusers can easily become addicted to those drugs. Prescription drug abusers risk overdosing with potentially catastrophic consequences. Accidental opioid overdose kills more people in the USA every year than any other type of accident.
Prescription drug abuse causes many other health problems. Addicted individuals can neglect other aspects of their health. They can become malnourished and develop infections and other illnesses through their drug use, including heart, liver, kidney and gastrointestinal problems. Let Drug Detox Centers Jersey City be your primary recovery resource. Just give us a call today at (201) 492-6604.
