Medication Abuse
Prescription for Widespread Rx Misuse Starts at Home by Daniel J. McCullough, M.D.
Prescription medications are some of medicine's best therapies.
They prevent and cure disease and relieve pain and suffering.
Sadly, they're also at the root of one of today's biggest public
health problems.
Prescription drugs are now the second most commonly abused
category of drugs, behind only marijuana. Nearly 20 percent of
people in the U.S. have used prescription medications for
non-medical reasons.
Abuse and misuse span the ages. Seniors are vulnerable because
they develop more painful disabilities and take so many
prescriptions. Among Americans 60 and older, more than 75 percent
use two or more prescriptions, and 37 percent use five or more,
according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Abuse by young people is especially alarming: nearly 2 million
youth, age 12-17, are abusing painkillers, steroids, stimulants
and other prescriptions. In its first assessment of prescription
drug abuse among high-school students in 2009, the CDC found that 1
in5 high-school students had taken a prescription drug without a
doctor's prescription.
And many times, they're getting these drugs from a common source
that's right at their fingertips: the home medicine cabinet.
Because these drugs have a legitimate use, have a known dosage
and are prescribed by a physician, teenagers think they're a safe
way to get high. The abuse is so widespread that the Partnership
for a Drug-Free America estimates that every day 2,500 teenagers,
some as young as 12, use a prescription drug to get high for the
first time.
For more information on prescription drug abuse and what you can
do, go online to The Partnership for a Drug Free America at drugfree.org/notinmyhouse
or the Massachusetts Medical Society at
physicianfocus.org. For parents especially, they're worth a
visit.
Here Are Some Basic Steps to Take to Reduce the Abuse
- Store medications safely, under lock and key,
if necessary, so that they won't be susceptible to misuse or
theft.
- Parents: Talk to your children about the
misuse of prescription medication and the dangers it presents.
- If you care for an elderly person, take all
steps to see that the patient understands how and when to take the
medication. Advise other family members or caretakers as
well.
- Properly dispose of unused or out-of-date
drugs. Bring them to a community drug take-back or
household hazard waste program or throw in the trash after crushing
and mixing with an undesirable substance like coffee grounds and
putting in a sealed container. Do not flush down the toilet
unless the label says it's okay to do so.
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Daniel J. McCullough, M.D., a family physician at Beverly
Hospital, is a member of the board of directors of the American
Society of Addiction Medicine and immediate past president of the
Massachusetts Society for Addiction Medicine. He is also a
delegate from the Essex South District to the Massachusetts Medical
Society.
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Published in North Shore Life, Spring 2011