Prescription Drug Addiction
The fastest rising category
of substance abuse in America, and probably the world, is
prescription drug
addiction. In fact, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration recently reported that more young people tried prescription
drugs for the first time than those who tried marijuana for the first time.
This means that if there is such a thing as a "gateway drug" - prescriptions
are now it more than ever.
The common misconception by most teenagers
and adults is that prescription drugs are safer because they are legal and come
in a pill. They are also unfortunately more socially acceptable because they
can come from a pharmacy and don't have to be snorted, smoked or injected. The
problem is that prescription drugs are every bit as dangerous and addictive as
street drugs.
Contact us today for prescription drug addiction help.
Call 1-877-372-5719 or fill out the form on
this page.
Types of Prescription Drugs
There are many more
specific classifications of prescription drugs out there, but for our purposes
we have broken down the most abused drugs as well as those that are hardest to
get off of into four main categories.
Prescription painkillers are opiate
narcotics and they represent the largest problem in terms of addiction. Since
they are in the opioid family their addictive qualities are very high to go
along with their painkilling effect. Some common painkillers include brand
names of hydrocodone and oxycodone.
Another widely abused category is
falls under sort of a mixed heading, depending on who you talk to. A class of
drugs called benzodiazepines (oftne called
benzos) are sedatives that are also commonly prescribed as an anti-anxiety
drug. Some names of benzos include Xanax and Valium.
Stimulants are a legal form of amphetamines
and unfortunately are commonly prescribed to kids and young adults. These
include drugs for learning disorder labels such as Ritalin and Adderall. These
drugs are also very highly addictive.
The last category we highlight
falls under the psychiatric medication
heading. These are more drugs prescribed for different labels or disorders,
such as depression, bipolar, etc. These drugs may or may not be abused, but we
included them here because they have heavy negative side effects and are very
difficult to withdraw from. Many people feel trapped by these drugs because if
they stop taking them then their symptoms become much worse suddenly, but there
is a way to do it properly and we can help.
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