Effects and Abuse of Prescription Drugs in the United States of America - Essay Example

? Effects and Abuse of Prescription Drugs in US Effects and Abuse of Prescription Drugs in US Introduction According to Lauer & Lauer (2011) before dealing with any social problems, there should be an understanding of what results in such problems, what makes such problems to persist, and how such problems affects individuals’ quality of life (2011). One such current event problem is the issue of abuse of prescription medication, and in an article in New York Times written by Tavernise, the US Food and Drug Administration decided to strengthen considerably restrictions on prescribed medication drugs, like Vicodin, narcotic analgesics and Oxycodone (Tavernise, 2013). This is because the prescribed drug abuse has not just become a health serious concern, but also a social one due to increasing deaths and suicides arising from their misuse, and the increasingly negative impacts such individuals pose to their families, relationships and the wider community around them. Of concern is the national level statistics on prescribed drugs abuse, revealing that such induced deaths have for the first time outstripped deaths arising from other street drugs and traffic accidents, after quadrupling since the start of 2000 (National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, 2012). Hence, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of and abuse of prescription drugs in US from a sociological perspective. Discussion Statistics derived by National Survey on Drug Use and Health, indicates that over 1.7 million Americans between the ages of 12 and 25 years misuse any accessible prescribed medication drug (2012). The report also notes that a total of 2.2 million Americans kick off non-medical utilization of prescribed drugs annually, and this is more than those initiated to other street drugs, like marijuana whose figures are estimated at 2.1 million, while number of people using cocaine standing at 872,000 (National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, 2012). The prescription drugs are medications assigned to sick persons by health professional in order to relieve the person of any symptoms. The drugs are supposed to be used under a set of rules which are meant to direct the patient when using the medication and only for a certain period. For that reason, abuse of prescribed medication is a deviant behavior which takes place when there is a collapse of control, in terms of personal behavior and the in-general social order. Most of these drugs are used by individuals for outrageously different reasons, such as helping them to sleep, while some misuse them to relieve their mental distresses, and others misuse them as performance enhancers especially college students. Notably, more and more Americans are now using prescribed drugs, especially painkillers wrongfully, and this has resulted in the number of deaths reported from their abuses, surpassing the number of lives other narcotics drugs such as heroin or cocaine take annually when combined. In particular, young Americans aged between 12-17 years are the most probable to begin non-medical utilization and abuse of prescribed psychotherapeutic medications (National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, 2012). Such trends can be explained by social ecological premise, which assesses societal problem in not just a contextual manner, but also through an environmental angle (Jones, Bradbury, & LeBoutillier, 2011). Given that the young people tend to develop within dissimilar but interrelated environments that are either proximal or distant, they tend to ride along the multiple levels of influence arising from diverse environment effects. Hence, abuse of prescribed medications is widespread in young individuals, since they tend to follow any desired outcome that ignites their emotions and interest. Lauer & Lauer (2011) observes that norms, mind-set and values determine an individual behavior in the society, and as such, deviance and the resultant social problems are as typical as the standards themselves. On the other hand, functionalist point of view asserts that medication drugs should be used based on social-norms, and as such, it is not considered normal for individuals to abuse any prescribed medications (Jones, Bradbury, & LeBoutillier, 2011). Therefore, patients tend to believe false assumption that they can be misused since they are safer and less addictive than narcotic street drugs. Patients and individuals addicted to such drugs normally lash out at their family members, and this makes it so frustrating for them as they often and in earnest believe that they do not have serious problem. This then makes the family members to feel like they are trapped in the same dysfunctional situation (Lauer & Lauer, 2011). Furthermore, such a denial and rationalization of the drug abuse, results in increased social strains not just in their occupation, or academic achievements or finances but also in their mental state. Most of them have a higher suicide ideation with nearly 40% of suicide cases being attributed to direct and indirect abuse of prescribed drugs abuse (Gibbons, Hur, Bhaumik, & Mann, 2005). Others resort to child abuse and even neglect, since they are preoccupied with the drugs and lose track of their responsibilities as parents. In particular, domestic violence becomes so recurrent that it takes on an emotional damage to the children. Nevertheless, the solutions are based on appreciating the dynamic and shared means of shaping information, thoughts, and behaviors, and not just in young people development, but also in grown-up patients (Colliver, Krouti, Dai, & Gfroer, 2006). Patients need to understand multiple levels of influence including their environmental circumstances, in order to apply only the correct information regarding their prescription drugs. The solutions need to be comprehensive, and should entail restricting access to medication drugs through tougher prescription procedures. Secondly, it will be crucial to educate the patients who are themselves parents, on how to use such drugs, good storage measures safe from their children access, and also on the dangers of misusing them. Conclusion This paper has evaluated the effect of and abuse of prescription drugs in US. The paper has used current statistics to define the sociological impact of prescription drugs misuse. The paper argues that there is no single solution to this problem, and even increasing enforcement alone would not solve it completely. This is because such drugs are perfectly legal to acquire and they are easy to acquire not just from over the counter, but from family and friends. Therefore, the key is to educate parents, patients and young people regarding the proper and safe utilization of such drugs, including their proper storage as well as disposal. There should also be monitoring programs intended to reduce their shopping or even diversion, and this should be coupled with proper and responsible disposal initiatives. Article Used Tavernise, S. (2013, January 25). F.D.A. Likely to Add Limits on Painkillers. The New York Times . References Colliver, J. d., Krouti, L. A., Dai, L., & Gfroer, J. C. (2006). Misuse of prescription drugs:Data from the 2002, 2003, and 2004 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and. Gibbons, R. D., Hur, K., Bhaumik, D. K., & Mann, J. J. (2005). The relationship between antidepressant medication use and rate of suicide. Arch Gen Psychiatry , 62 (2), 165-172. Jones, P., Bradbury, L., & LeBoutillier, S. (2011). Introducing Social Theory. Polity. Lauer, R. H., & Lauer, J. C. (2011). Social problems and the quality of life (12 ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. (2012). Misuse of prescription drugs. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Washington DC: Office of Applied Studies. Read More