AHS Views

A recent government survey was done on over 67,000 people, which indicated that prescription drug abuse in the country is continuing to grow. An article in Reuters reports that that non-medical use of prescription drugs, especially prescription pain pills, among young adults increased a full percentage in 2006. What many may not have considered is the relationship between the legal use of these drugs either by doctors or through drug rehab and the amount of people getting hooked on prescriptions drugs.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) indicates that the most commonly abused prescriptions include Oxy Contin, Vicodin, Valium, and Xanax  to name a few. Benzos like Valium and Xanax have been prescribed more and more in the drug treatment field as a treatment method to handle those withdrawing from hard drugs like heroin, cocaine and even methamphetamine. After leaving treatment, many addicts continue to take these prescriptions often times becoming addicted to them.

OxyContin, which is one of the most abused prescription pain medication, is prescribed most often to those with physical injuries. Unfortunately the most significant increase in non-medical use is with those in the 12th grade as reported by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The more prescriptions for these types of drugs that get written in and out of treatment programs the higher the chances that young adults will abuse them. We need more successful drug rehab programs that don’t use drugs to get people off drugs.