The abuse of prescription drugs has become more and more prevalent in todays society. Many individuals are prescribed medications by medical professionals for serious medical conditions, and the drugs which are legitimately prescribed can be both mentally and physically addictive. The most commonly abused prescription drugs fall in to the categories of painkiller drugs, benzodiazepines, barbituates and amphetamines.
Many of the prescription painkillers fall into the opioid family of drugs like hydrocodone and oxycodone. Some brand names for common prescription painkiller drugs includes: Morphine, Codeine, OxyContin, Darvon, Vicodin, Dilaudid, and Demerol. Some examples of benzodiazepine drugs include Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin.
Individuals who abuse prescription medication put themselves at risk for drug addiction by abusing the drugs for uses other than what was medically intended. These drugs are commonly abused because they have the ability to alter the mood, relieve pain, relieve stress and produce energy or a euphoric state. Following prolonged use of prescription drugs the individual’s body will become used to the drug and tolerance to the drug will occur. Individuals normally will react to tolerance by taking or consuming more and more of the drug in order to achieve the same effect on them as it had initially.
In the end, regardless of the circumstance in which the person started taking the medication whether it is for a legitimate medical condition or due to illicit abuse, all who use prescription medications are at risk for developing devastating addictions. Medical professionals will normally ween their patients off the medications in order to prevent the patient from experiencing the various withdrawal symptoms associated with each drug.
