Prescription Drug Abuse Research Paper

Words: 544
Pages: 3

Did you know that 44 people in the U.S. each day overdose on prescription drugs and twice more become addicted to all types of these painkillers and other prescribed drugs each day. In 2005, 4.4 million teenagers (aged 12 to 17) in the U.S. admitted to taking prescription painkillers, and 2.3 million took a prescription stimulant such as Ritalin. Teens are the biggest group that are abusing prescription drugs, more than 46,000 teens abuse prescription drugs each day. In the early 1900’s Bayer Pharmaceuticals sold heroin and an over the counter problem solver for coughs if a pharmacist could sell the top damaging drug what are they really selling to us. I personally am totally against prescription drugs. The reason why I am against prescription …show more content…
“In 2007, the Drug Enforcement Administration found that abuse of the painkiller Fentanyl killed more than 1,000 people that year in the US. It is thirty to fifty times more powerful than heroin.” (drugfreeworld.org). People think that taking painkillers are not bad at all compared to street drugs such as heroin, cocaine,etc. but, in all reality they can even be worst than any of those drugs. They can be worst because, when taking them you can’t see the damage it is doing to your body because, it is on the inside also, anyone can become addicted without even noticing, one day you can be taking a normal dose and then the next you will be adding up the pills. Statistics show that depressants, opioids and antidepressants are responsible for more overdose deaths (45%) than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and amphetamines (39%) combined. All these street drugs are suppose to be the worst drug in the world and yet the bad ones are disguised. Threw out the years pharmaceutical companies have invested millions of dollars to achieve maximum potential of prescription drug on the market today. I understand that it is a lot of money to fund prescription drugs but if you could take away 5 pills with one different type of medicine they why not that is not addictive. There is many more reasons why prescription drugs are bad and that there are addictive but how come we don’t do something about