Prescription drugs are important for the treatment of many medical disorders, including treatment of some chronic pain conditions, restore emotional balance and normalizing behavior. Some prescription pills are also used to help treat obesity, induce sleep and relieve depression.
However, many types of prescription pills are also prone to abuse. Besides side effects and serious complications, prescription pills also can lead to addiction and even cause death.
Prescription drug abuse is of a major health concern today. What most people do not know is that prescription drug abuse is not a recent problem, but has been around since the evolution of pharmaceutical drugs dating back to the 50s. Today, there is a much greater awareness of prescription drug abuse and methods to detect drugs are sophisticated.
The most common prescription drugs abused are pain killers, sedatives and drugs that stimulate the brain. Countless surveys done in the last few years indicate that prescription drug abuse is rampant in society at all ages, involves all races, cultures and both genders. The problem of prescription drug abuse is also common in high school students and adolescents, with estimates indicating that more than 15 percent of these individuals abuse prescription drugs on a regular basis. There are also thousands (perhaps millions) other individuals who abuse prescription drugs but have not been identified. The problem of prescription drug abuse is endemic in our society.
In North America, the most common drugs abused include oxycodone, oxycontin, sedatives and other related pills.
www.oag.state.md.us/Reports/PrescriptionDrugAbuse.pdf