Why Do People Abuse Prescription Drugs

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It is estimated that seven million Americans abuse prescription drugs (Rees at el. 2014). These prescription drugs range from anti-depressants to pain killers and give each person a different reaction. The concern about prescription drug use is not new knowledge. Many users become addicted to these drugs and could overdose because of it. In the United States, more people die because of opioid painkillers than the number of deaths from heroin and cocaine combined (Ress at el. 2014). Though opioids are popular in the drug world, there are hundreds of other prescription drugs that people abuse. These drugs are easily purchased and consumed on a daily basis. The easiest and most common way is purchasing the drugs on the street. The drug epidemic…show more content…
This is not always the case when it comes to dealing drugs. Drugs are mainly within the cities or slums surrounding it, but drug dealing also involves middle and upper class as well. It takes money to make money in the drug world and many who have the money use people who are willing to get caught to make the money. Marijuana and prescription drugs are the most commonly used drugs on the streets. Unfortunately, all ages are involved in the purchasing and consumption of illegal drugs. “In recent years, Monitoring the Future, the NIDA-funded annual survey of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use in 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students, has shown persistently high rates of marijuana and nonmedical prescription drug use in our Nation’s teens” (Most…show more content…
Many people, like Brett Stashak, have gotten addicted to these drugs after a few uses (Stashak 2014). Users like Brett experience a short-lived happiness when ingesting a painkiller such as hydrocodone or Oxycodone. These prescribed medicines are highly addictive and can cause serious health issue if the addiction is not treated. The long-term use of painkillers can lead your body through physical and mental health issues depending on the drug, like any addiction (“Painkiller Addiction”). “I started off by taking them by mouth and after about three years I began to snort them,” said Stashak. Though Stashak may not have grown up in a socially disorganized home, the drug dealers that sell to him may have. The dealers are not only hurting the buyer, they are also hurting themselves and the rest of society. Drugs can easily destroy someone’s normal life, whether they grew up in a good neighborhood or not. They can and will affect anyone who choses to abuse them and that is a clear indication that drugs are a major issue in today’s

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