Prescription Drug Addiction Blog

Prescription drug abuse and addiction continues to grow throughout the country, and there is no immediate end in sight. It affects young people because they often don't view prescription drugs as being as dangerous as street drugs, and older Americans who are given these drugs are becoming addicted simply from the tolerance and abuse potential of the drugs.

States like West Virginia, as reported in Business Week, have introduced legislation to try and combat their growing problem. Prescription opiates are the biggest problem, which include painkillers such as methadone, oxycodone and hydrocodone products. One of the most effective ways to fight "doctor shopping" is an attempt to have a prescription drug monitoring system in place where pharmacists can access a database of information to see how often and how recently people have tried to get prescriptions filled at other places. While it's not a fool-proof method, it certainly throws an extra net on trying to catch problems before they get worse.

Of course, just like with illicit drugs, the question of what to do when people are caught forging prescriptions or buying the drugs off the street is how to handle the individuals. A heavy-handed law enforcement approach doesn't work that often, and it is much better for both those caught in the trap of prescription drug addiction as well as society as a whole to try and give them a chance to attend successful addiction treatment centers.

(from NaturalNews) "Research from The National Institute of Mental Health has revealed that popular Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) drugs like Ritalin are responsible for causing sudden death in many children. Study numbers indicate a 500 percent increased risk in childhood death from taking such mental health drugs.

For years, many experts, scientists, and health practitioners have speculated that ADD drugs are dangerous and can cause serious injury and death. Etta Brown, a licensed educational psychologist and author of Learning Disabilities: Understanding the Problem and Managing the Challenges explained in response to the study that drugs like Ritalin actually destroy the neural function in children's brains. As a result, children who have undergone treatment with Ritalin will actually have a much more difficult time processing information and learning new things.

Brown also notes that Ritalin is responsible for causing a permanent tic in the face, neck, and head of many of the children who have taken or are taking it. Ironically, Ritalin is responsible for causing far more serious neurological damage than the problems it is alleged to treat. Comprehensive studies over the years have revealed that while drugs like Ritalin visibly calm children, these drugs destroy their delicate, developing nervous systems and can permanently cripple their ability to function as normal human beings."

In the addiction treatment field, we commonly see people who were given prescription stimulants when they were young who also go on to use street drugs because the natural process of tolerance and dependence makes their bodies crave more drugs. This is why most successful drug rehab centers advocate parents and doctors seeking alternatives instead of giving these drugs to kids.