AHS Views

I recently read an article about the prescription drug addiction problem in a certain state. There was a big task force formed by the police, various addiction help facilities and a number of other groups. One of the government officials in the town was quoted as saying that he didn’t think there was a prescription drug addiction problem, that there was no evidence of it. Boy, does this guy have his head in the sand. All you have to do is call a few addiction help facilities and you’ll find that is not the case.

The facts are all over the place – they’re even published by various government agencies. Saying that prescription drug addiction is not a problem is like telling us the Holocaust never happened. Get real.

While it’s true that most people taking prescription drugs – as prescribed by their doctor – use them for the purpose for which their doctor intended them (and even those people can easily get addicted) the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 20 percent of Americans use prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

Also, a 2009 study found that 16 million Americans ages 12 and older took prescription drugs for non-medical purposes at least once in the prior year, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration.

And if anyone thinks these drugs are not addictive, why have addiction help facilities been inundated with people suffering from OxyContin addiction, Xanax addiction, and addiction to other tranquilizers and sedatives and even speed like Ritalin and Adderall?

The pill mills in Florida – which give away OxyContin and other painkillers like candy and have become huge legal suppliers for prescription drug addicts all up the eastern seaboard – are currently the subject of legislation.

Police reports from all across the country say that prescription drug addiction and abuse is becoming more and more of a problem in their area.

I can’t imagine why anyone would think it’s not an issue. Whatever ………..

The truth is this – prescription drug addiction IS epidemic. Kids are getting them from their parents’ medicine cabinets, pain clinics are handing them out like candy, people are going from one doctor to another faking symptoms to get more pills, thefts from pharmacies and other legit suppliers are becoming increasingly common, and even seniors are dealing them – watch the news.

Don’t let some blind politician make you feel that prescription drugs are safe – and if you have a problem with them, or there’s a problem with someone you care about, get into a drug rehab center.

I recently had occasion to meet one of the major marketing people for perhaps the best-known energy drink. More caffeine than about 10 cups of coffee in one little can. She confessed to having been wired on this stuff – but said she’s now down to about 6 cans a day. I don’t know the stats on her drink specifically but, for some of them, that’s the equivalent of about 64 cans of coke. A day. What are the possibilities of this leading to taking drugs?

Caffeine is addictive, although it doesn’t produce anywhere near the serious side effects of drugs when you try to get off it, but I wonder how many people who drink energy drinks in these amounts wind up getting into drugs. When you’ve had that much false energy pumped into your body, you’ve got to feel drained and lifeless when you stop drinking it – which opens the door to saying yes to a little ’pick-me-up’ offered by a friend. A pick-me-up that might include methamphetamine, cocaine, or one of the many meth-type prescription drugs that help keep you awake.

According to some research, energy drinks might well be gateway drugs. Roland Griffiths, one of the authors of a Johns Hopkins Medical Institution study on caffeine intoxication, said there is evidence that energy drinks are gateway drugs. He suggested that the drinks should have FDA warning labels – not about the gateway drug end of things, but about the possibility of caffeine intoxication.

One of the commenters laughed at this – said if the FDA was going to put warnings on energy drinks they should also put warnings on Coca Cola, pointing out that the name came from COKE – i.e. cocaine. But it hasn’t contained cocaine since 1929, so no need for the FDA to do that. I hope the commenter isn’t disappointed to find that out.

Personally, I would see a kid drinking a lot of energy drinks as a warning sign. Either there’s something physically wrong with the person – so they need energy desperately – or they’re wired. Or they’re just stupid. In which case, I’d definitely be worried since there’s a much better chance of them saying yes to an offer of a little pill that will create the same effect. Maybe someone will give them a Ritalin or Adderall. Especially if it’s a college kid trying to stay awake or using ‘study drugs’ (speed) to focus.

When a person does one thing that’s harmful to their body, they’re more likely to do another. And it could get them in a lot of trouble. Including the eventually need for addiction help.

My advice? Check into it. 

Performance-enhancing drugs are in the news again – this time it’s with sports, check out Why Isn’t There Nearly As Big A Fuss About Amphetamines In Baseball As There Is About Steroids? Some people have even suggested prescription painkillers should also be disallowed as, without them, some athletes couldn’t perform, hence, they’re performance-enhancing drugs.

Amphetamines are used as performance-enhancing drugs all over the place – not just in sports. Ritalin given to kids who are acting up in class instead focusing on their studies, college students taking Ritalin and Adderall to improve their concentration (and enable them to stay awake) while cramming for exams – it’s all performance-enhancing.

And while their performance is being ‘enhanced’, their brain is getting addled (is that why they call it Adderall?), and the individual’s potential to perform without drugs is at risk.

Some people, lots of them, get addicted to drugs like Ritalin and Adderall. And when their prescription runs out, they sometimes turn to the drugs’ illegal counterparts – methamphetamine, crystal meth, and so on – to get the effect they crave.

And some kids even drop out of college when they can no longer get their performance-enhancing study drugs. They just can’t do the work without it. What kind of employee are they going to be when they can’t even study a subject without taking drugs? Very bad scene.

Lots of people seeking addiction help started drugs when prescribed amphetamines by their doctor. When they get into treatment they may still be taking the same prescription, or they could be getting the same drugs through illegal means, or they may have moved on to street drugs.

Amphetamines have become common place. Parents of college age kids really should check and see if their kids are taking them. Once they’re of age, they can go to a doctor and get their own prescription without your permission or knowledge. You’re only going to find out if you ask.

And if they are taking them, get them the addiction help services they need. They’re like lots of other drugs – they’ll create a temporary positive effect, damage the body and mind in the process, and will make your kid dependent on them or addicted to them.

I feel sorry for these kids. They think they’re doing something wise, but that’s no way to get through college. If they need drugs there, they’ll probably need to continue them in the workplace.

Some time ago I had an allergic reaction to something I ate and my face got so badly swollen you could barely see my eyes. After a couple of days my doctor put me on steroids to get the swelling down before my face exploded. They worked, but they also had other rather intense effects in that they made my body feel and act like a finely-tuned, very powerful machine. It was great!! Fortunately, I knew about the dangers of these drugs so didn’t even consider taking them after the initial problem was handled – although I would have liked to. I think much of the prescription drug addiction epidemic that is sending people for addiction help in droves is rooted in a similar situation – the difference being that I really understood the dangers of the drugs and most people don’t.

Stimulants are a major drug of choice right now both in the U.S. and elsewhere. They’re being called ‘cognitive enhancers’ to legitimize them. Ritalin, Provigil, and so on. They’re speed, basically. With a little cocaine thrown in. And they’re being used by millions of people – everyone from college students who want get an edge to shift workers trying to stay awake and people who just want to get high. Of course, Ritalin has been used on young school kids for decades – it is one of the major drugs that opened the door to our current prescription drug addiction epidemic.

What people don’t understand is the underlying effects of these drugs. Needing addiction help is probably not the worst of it – they also cause serious physical deterioration from which some may never recover.  The side effects of Ritalin, for example, include everything from sleeplessness, loss of appetite, nervousness and tics to heart palpitations, cardiac arrythmia, hair loss, anemia, anorexia and psychosis. And, because they’re also addictive and cause severe, and dangerous, withdrawal symptoms, it’s hard to even stop taking them without professional addiction help services.

Unfortunately, many academics are sanctioning the use of these drugs, just as athletes and coaches sanctioned the use of steroids before they were outlawed in sports. Hopefully, stimulants used for something other than true medical situations will also be outlawed.

In the meantime, watch out for your friends and family. The price they pay for feeling more awake or more alert may be disaster. At the very least, if they keep taking them, the drugs will take their toll.  And it won’t be pretty. Better they should get addiction help services now than wait until disaster strikes.