1). Taking drugs for longer than medically necessary, asking multiple physicians for drugs, or simply accepting medications for which they are over-prescribed by irresponsible physicians can all shape the pattern of elderly person's prescription drug abuse. Taking prescription drugs with alcohol or drugs that are contraindicated with their medications is another. Drugs with psychoactive properties may be more prescribed amongst the elderly, because it is assumed they are less likely to abuse them: "Elderly individuals are 2-3 times more likely than younger individuals to be prescribed psychoactive drugs, most notably benzodiazepines [sedatives]…benzodiazepines make up 17% to 23% of drugs prescribed for older adults" (Benshoff 2003, p.1).
Both early and late-onset drug abusers are manifest in the elderly population: late abusers may be individuals who always engaged in moderate consumption, but because of chronic pain, social isolation, and depression have begun to use more painkillers or other medications than are medically necessary…...
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References
Benshoff, John J. Laura K. Harrawood, Darwin Shane Koch. (2003, April-June). Substance
abuse and the elderly: unique issues and concerns. Journal of Rehabilitation.
Prescription Drug Abuse: Narcotics
In today's society, the debate as to whether or not prescription narcotics are necessary in certain situations is one that is fueled mainly be the tendency for patients to overuse after being prescribed these medications. In many situations, patients present with pain that is treated by their respective physicians with prescriptions drugs that fall into the category of narcotics and opiates in order for the cited pain to be treated. However, as many patients have fallen into habit in terms of overuse of such medications as well as addiction, narcotics prescription standards have become an issue that has continuously hinders true sufferers of chronic pain. In understanding the statistics related to the over-prescription of such medications, one can better understand the connection to overuse. Additionally, one can see how these facets do nothing but harm individuals who truly need these medications. In understanding these facets of narcotics…...
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Works Cited
Dibble, Paul. "Solving the Narcotics Dilemma," in Medical Economics, 88(4): pp. 64-67.
February 2011. Web. Retrieved from: ProQuest Database. [Accessed on 22 November 2011].
Libby, Ronald. "Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers: The Drug Enforcement
Administration's War on Prescription Painkillers," in The Independent Review, 10(4): pp. 511-545. Spring 2006. Web. Retrieved from: ProQuest Database. [Accessed on 22 November 2011].
In the words of one user: "I convinced herself that abusing prescription drugs was safer than abusing heroin, marijuana, and other 'street drugs'...I would never do those." (Meadows, 2001) So long as the drugs are available by prescription, it is easy to think that abusing these drugs is okay, especially in the minds of impressionable teens.
Did you know that OxyContin is actually a form of morphine, like heroin, and is often just as additive, especially when it is crushed and injected intravenously or snorted into the nostrils, as it is by many addicts whose tolerance has escalated after repeated use of the drug? (Meadows, 2001) Do you have a friend with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Ritalin (methylphenidate) abuse amongst high school students and even middle school students is on the rise! The presence of younger and younger addicts, who can't even drive, but can buy this drug,…...
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Works Cited
D.A.R.E. Official organizational website. 2006. [24 Nov 2006]
(aeburn, 2002, p. 127)
Clearly, college life presents it sown situations that are conducive to the creation, or exaggeration, of psychological disorders in individuals.
College is a time of change, and change can produce stress; however, as it is to be noted that a certain amount of substance abuse appears to be a part of the regular college experience.
All forms of SUD are relatively prevalent in young adulthood, suggesting that perhaps substance involvement is more related to developmental and social factors associated with this stage of life as opposed to stable individual differences. (Sher, 2003, p. 167)
This not to say that individual problems with prescription drug abuse do not exist in the nation's colleges and universities, but that the root causes, and more importantly, the nature of the "prescription drug abuse problem" might be quite different from that which obtains among the adult population. David Degrazia (Degrazia, 2000, p. 34) recounts…...
According to a Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) report, about 75% of prescription-drug abusers also use illicit drugs with their prescription drug of choice (Banta 2005, p.1).
Some teens steal the drugs from their parents, some buy them on the Internet, and others buy them from dealers who steal them from hospitals. Even middle school 'pharming' parties have been reported: preteens that lack the street smarts to have regular access to illegal drugs might still be able to find a source within their suburban communities (Ferraresi 2009). "Last year I had gum surgery, and I thought, well, at least I'll get painkillers," said a frequent participant in pharming parties (Banta 2005, p.1).
There is no single demographic profile of a prescription drug-abusing teen. However, no matter how young or how old, clearly these 'party-goers' do not appreciate the seriousness of the issue: "Overdoses of prescription and…...
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References
Banta, Carolyn. (2005, July 24). Trading for a high. Time Magazine. Retrieved March 27, 2010
Drug Abuse in Long Island, New York
With more than seven and a half million residents, Long Island, New York is a major center of commerce and education, but like many other densely populated large urban centers, this city also has a significant drug abuse problem. To determine the facts about the problem, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide epidemiological evidence concerning the incidence of drug abuse in Long Island, and what community-based resources are available to its resident. Finally, a review of a recent research study article concerning these issues is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning drug abuse in Long Island in the conclusion.
eview and Analysis
Epidemiological evidence concerning drug abuse in Long Island
Like many other major American urban centers, all types of drugs are abuse in Long Island, but heroin abuse in particular has become a serious problem in recent years (Berke…...
About Outreach House. (2017). Outreach House. Retrieved from outreach-treatment/adolescent-residential-svcs/brentwood-long-island.http://www.opiny.org/
About Seafield Center Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment. (2017). Seafield Center Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment. Retrieved from about_us.http://www.seafieldcenter.com/
drug use and abuse in the United States and presents differing approaches that are used (or proposed) to get a handle on the problem. There is no doubt that the drug abuse issue is not new and it is not being reduced by any significant amount. This paper presents statistics and scholarly research articles that delve into various aspects of the drug abuse issue in the United States, with particular emphasis on drugs that are abused in eastern Kentucky and generally in the Appalachian communities.
History of Drug Use & Availability
The history of illegal drug use in the United States goes back to the 19th Century, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The DEA has a Museum in Arlington, Virginia, that illustrates the history of drug discoveries, drug use, and drug abuse through the years. The DEA reports that morphine, heroin, and cocaine were "discovered" in the 19th…...
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Works Cited
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2008). Drugs and Crime Facts / Drug Use / Youth. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from http://bjs.ojp.usdog.gov.
Drug Enforcement Agency. (2012). Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from http://www.deamuseum.org .
Grant, Judith. (2007). Rural women's stories of recovery from addition. Addiction Research and Theory, 15(5), 521-541.
Havens, Jennifer R., Oser, Carrie B., and Leukefeld, Carl G. (2011). Injection risk behaviors
drives under the influence of alcohol, it is a criminal offense abbreviated as driving under the influence (DUI). However alcohol is but one of the many substances that can interfere with one's driving capability. DUI charges can also be pressed against individuals who are driving under the influence of other kinds of drugs, including illegal drugs and even prescription medication. Taking drugs and driving at the same time, whether the drugs are just prescription muscle relaxers or medicinal marijuana is illegal and a DUI offense. The argument that one took drugs because of doctor's orders is not a defense to DUI charges. Various drugs have different effects on drivers. The drugs that impair concentration, judgment, alertness and/or motor skills are regarded as dangerous and in several cases even more dangerous than alcohol. Driving while having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of more than 0.08% or higher is illegal in…...
Whereas the harms associated with some illicit (and prescription) drugs is cumulative, some of the most popular recreational drugs such as ecstasy actually destroy neurons each and every time they are used.
Each time you take ecstasy, for example, neurons dedicated to respond to the neurotransmitter dopamine lose their ability to do so. As a result, ecstasy use in particular is known to interfere with the natural neurotransmitter reuptake mechanism. This impairs your ability to maintain a healthy mental frame of mind because dopamine reception and reuptake is fundamentally important to perceiving pleasure and to experiencing happiness. Ultimately this is a major cause of clinical depression in young people, requiring life-long treatment with antidepressant medications which are associated with negative side effects of their own. Suicide is also directly attributable to the psychological effects of clinical depression. Therefore, if you hope to achieve your academic potential and to avoid causing…...
Teen Drug Abuse - Prescription or Not
Differences between nonalcoholic offspring of alcoholics (family history positive, FHP) and matched offspring of nonalcoholics (family history negative, FHN) have been identified on a variety of behavioral, cognitive, and neurological measures. Compared to FHN teens, FHP adolescents and young adults demonstrate more disturbed school careers, impulsivity, rebelliousness, and nonconformity (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2006); poorer neuropsychological performance (Worden & Slater, 2009); and significantly lower amplitude in P300 brain waves, which are believed to measure selective attention (Cicero, et al. 2005). Further, following ingestion of alcohol, sons of alcoholics report less body sway and less subjective intoxication (Grant, et al., 2005), higher levels of flushing (McBride, 2011), and decreased P300 amplitudes when performing difficult tasks (Foster, et al., 2009).
Not all individuals with a family history of alcohol dependence become alcohol and/or drug abusers, however, and genetics alone cannot account for the transmission…...
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Resources
Ajzen, I. (2010). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. (2006). Youth risk behavior surveillance -- United States, 2005. MMWR 2006, 55.
Cicero, T.J., Inciardi, J.A., & Munoz, A. (2005). Trends in abuse of OxyContin and other opioid analgesics in the United States: 2002-2004. The Journal of Pain, 6, 662-672.
Drug Enforcement Administration. (2005). Prescription pain medications: Frequently asked questions and answers for health care professionals and law enforcement personnel. Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 19(1), 71-104.
One of the most frequent injuries is represented by the traumatic brain ones.. amongst other symptoms, one can mention anxiety, severe depression. Headaches and the difficulty to reason clearly. PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder is also manifested through depression, insomnia, flashback.
It is important to underline that these psychological disorders are usually associated with drug abuse. Taking this into consideration, it can be underlined that we are dealing with a social phenomenon. Most soldiers do not have the psychological training needed in order to do what they need to do once in combat. War has never been and could never be a pretty things, so the atrocities that these young men witness or are forced to do, shake them up psychologically. The use of drugs is to be understood in close connection to this factor.
Depression is not a factor that can be ignored. And there is no time for soldiers to…...
Substance Disorder
There are a number of different instruments that are used to diagnose substance disorders. One of these NIAMED, which has an online screening tool, the NIDA Drug Screening Tool. This test is used for screening. The patient is surveyed with respect to his/her use of various drugs, both illegal and prescription, with the focus on non-FDA approved uses of the latter. The tool was launched in 2009 as an aid to help physicians quickly and easily screen their patients for drug abuse risk (NIAMED, 2009).
This test is typically administered online, but it can be administered in offline format. The test is a survey. The results are provided at the end of the survey when the test is administered online. The test is one of the more basic tests, in that it is a single source, single method test that only focuses on frequency of usage and on determining the…...
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References
Brown, R., Leonard, T., Saunders, L, & Papasouliotis, O. (1997). A two-item screening test for alcohol and other drug problems. Journal of Family Practice. 44 (2) 151-160.
Drug Profile
Drug addiction is a human issue that cultivates biological, psychological, and social consequences, among others. The manifestation of addiction itself is characterized by physical dependence, and is defined by the uncontrollable, compulsive urge to seek and use drugs despite harmful repercussions (Fernandez, odriguez & Villa, 2011). Philologically, drug use affects the reward center, where dopamine receptors are over-stimulated. Ultimately, the repetition of drug use is encouraged to achieve the same, heightened, pleasure response (U.S. DHHS, 2007). Psychological responses to drug use may reflect motivations caused by positive pleasure, anxiety, or protection. The bodily effects of drugs often reflect the drug's class: stimulants, depressants, narcotics, hallucinogen, and cannabis. Each class represents various drugs and causes distinct biochemical responses. In addition to illicit drugs, prescription drugs are also highly abused and are categorized within the drug classes. Drug addiction does not discriminate between gender, race, sexual orientation or creed, and its…...
In jails, not one of the violent criminals was under the influence of heroin at the time their crime was committed. Twenty-one percent of state inmates incarcerated for violent crime were under the influence of alcohol alone at the time they committed their crime. The number of those under the influence of marijuana alone was too small to be recorded statistically. (National 1998) These facts indicate that it is not the drug users that are committing the crimes, but the people who deal with drugs. If there was no money to be gained from dealing with drugs, these criminals would have to find legitimate jobs and the police would only have to worry about traffic.
The efforts to target youth with drug education in the ar on Drugs has fallen far short of its original goals. The ONDCP is budgeting less than 12% of the $100 million it was planning…...
National Center on Addition and substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) Behind Bars: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population. New York: Columbia University, 1998.
McCaffrey, Barry R.. The National Drug Control Strategy, 1998: A Ten-Year Plan. Washington, DC: Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1998. p. 58.
The FDA also, amongst others, has recommended that clinical trials used to support advertising claims be approved by the FDA and to institute stiff fines against those found gaily of deceptive tactics. (Turning Medicine Into Snake Oil...) There is little doubt from the research that pharmaceutical companies have to be made more accountable for their products and advertising promises.
eferences
Borden Anne. Vioxx Stroke isk could last for Years. 2007. etrieved June 1, 2007 at http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/00888/vioxx-stroke-risk.html
Deceptive Prescription Drug Marketing Tactics 'Common and Dangerous'. 2006.
etrieved June 1,2007, at http://www.uspirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news/deceptive-prescription-drug-marketing-tactics-common-and-dangerous
Introduction to the Health Care Industry: Health Expenditures and Services in the U.S. etrieved June 1, 2007, at http://www.plunkettresearch.com/HealthCare/HealthCareTrends/tabid/294/Default.aspx
O'Connor K. x for prescription drugs. etrieved June 1, 2007, at http://www.oconnorhealthanalyst.com/pgs/rx.html
Oxycontin Manufacturer Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay Fine of $600,000,000.
etrieved June 1, 2007, at http://tyler.injuryboard.com/defective-products/oxycontin-manufacturer-agrees-to-plead-guilty-and-pay-fine-of-600000000.php?googleid=8636
Prescription Meds Changing Health Care. etrieved June 1, 2007, from Spending http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=60788
Silberner J. Common Diabetes Drug Found to Have Heart…...
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