For years, the prescription drug problem across the United States has been growing worse and worse. Many people are reliant on these drugs to try and find some kind of pleasure and comfort in life, but it’s not as easy as it might sound. That’s why prescription drug overdose rates are going through the roof. More worryingly, this is not a mere short-term issue or a concern that could take place; it’s happening right now, and has been for the best part of forty years.
Indeed, US Department of Health and Human Services resources have in the past found that the number of deaths have increased by 5x the previous amount 40 years ago. With more access to prescription drugs, as well as a higher volume of choice of drugs to pick from, it’s easy to see why. The problem, though, shows no signs of calming down or stopping anytime soon.
Indeed, it was estimated that opioids are the greatest source of overdose deaths in the United States; something that has been known since 2001. Indeed, an estimated 18.6m people aged 12 or over had misused a prescription drugs package since 2016. What, though, are the main offenders?
Research tends to show a large amount of people swaying towards the use of CNS depressants. They are used to help slow down brain activity, and are useful for those who are going through periods of stress, anxiety, or struggle to sleep. It’s also related to things like sedative treatments, hypnotic treatments, and even muscle tranquilizers.
These haven around for some time, and include the likes of Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines. As two of the most commonly used ‘families’ of CNS depressants, they have become high up on the list of the most commonly abused prescription drugs.
What else is a major problem?
Another common umbrella of abused prescription drugs includes that of prescription opioid analgesics. These have become commonly used as they help to relieve the body of pain and thus can be used to help treat pain. However, they could also be used to treat matters as simple as a developing cough or even a bout of diarrhoea.
That is a common reason for people to use them, but it’s the relaxed, almost euphoric state that they can leave you in that brings a lot of people to the use of prescription drugs. They are commonly used to excess due to the positive feeling they provide. This could be anything from codeine to morphine, right trough to tools like methadone, fentanyl, and even propoxyphene.
As you can see, there are many drugs on the market in the United States which are playing havoc with the lives of the many. Given the requirement for so many people to get treatment for conditions that cannot/will not be cured, though, it’s easy to see why people fall into this trap continually.
The main challenge is finding some means out of the hell that many people are unfortunately having to live through at this moment in time.
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