5 Fast Facts on Prescription Drug Addiction

For the past decade prescription drug abuse has reached levels that now compete with other illegal drugs in their abuse. 19% of teens reported that it is easier to get a hold of prescription drugs than cigarettes, beer or marijuana (Lyles, 2009). In 2003 there were 15 million people that abused prescription drugs, which was second only to marijuana as the most abused illegal drug. One out of 10 teenagers have abused cough syrup while the most abuse prescription drug is Xanax. In addition to these fast facts there are 10 other interesting facts that are little known about prescription drug addiction. Here they are:

#1) There are three classes of prescription drugs.

Opiods, which are usually prescribed to treat pain (this class of drugs is also referred to as "prescription narcotics") include codeine, oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet), morphine , hydromorphone (e.g. Demerol and Dilaudid), propoxyphene (e.g. Darvon and Darvocet) and methadone (e.g. Dolophine and methadose). Oxycodone is often referred to on the streets as "killer" due to its ability to be quite fatal with its abuse.

Another class of prescription drugs are central nervous system (CNS) depressants, which are commonly used to treat anxiety, panic attacks and sleep disorders. These type of drugs are also referred as sedatives and tranquilizers. These drugs are effective in treating anxiety and sleep disorders since they act by slowing the normal functioning of the brain. The two most popular known drugs in this category are Xanax (an alprazolam) and Valium (a diazepam). Other drugs falling under this category include chlordiazepoxide HCl (Librium), triazolam (Halcion), estazolam (ProSom), lorazepam (Activan), klonazepam (Klonopin) and pentobarbital (Nembutal).

A diazepam, such as the popularly known brand name of Valium, is often prescribed to control agitation caused by alcohol withdrawal, irritable bowel syndrome and panic attacks.

A third class of prescription drugs, known as stimulants (due to their ability to increase alertness, attention and energy) are prescribed to treat the sleep disorders (e.g. narcolepsy) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Examples of these drugs include dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine and Adderall) and methylphenidate (Ritalin and Concerta).

#2) It is virtually impossible for people with ADHD to become addicted to their prescription for ADHD.

According to Dr. Lyles, while stimulant abuse is high in non-ADHD persons, it is virtually impossible for for ADHD patients to become addicted. An analogy of a car going down the interstate helps illustrate why. An person with normal brain functioning (non-ADHD person) has their mind running (processing) at about 60 mph. When they take a stimulant (abuse, since it is illegal for them) such as Concerta their minds speed up to about 90 mph. When a person with ADHD, whose brain is functioning at 30 mph, takes Concerta, their mind is simply just getting caught up to the normal speed of 60 mph. For some reason they just can't seem to go much beyond that. Studies dealing with ADHD and stimulant abuse seem to verify this, according to medicalnewstoday.com.

#3) Fentanyl is 50-100 times more potent than morphine.

Fentanyl, a narcotic analgesic, is known to be up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Fentanyl is found in popular brands and forms such as Actiq lozenges, duragesic patches and fentora tablets. Fentora has street names such as apache, china girl, china white, dance fever, friend, goodfella, jackpot, murder 8, TNT, tango and cash. Fentanyl has adverse side effect such as dental decay, anxiety, suppressed breathing and even hallucinations (with the Fentanyl patch).

#4) The faster a person can get a drug to reach the brain the more intense and euphoric is the high.

Nobody likes to wait, so abusers often choose a delivery method that gets them higher, faster. The fastest way to get a drug to the brain is by smoking it. When a drug like tobacco is smoked the smoke is taken into the lungs, and the nicotine from it will seep into lung blood where it can quickly travel to the brain. This fast delivery is one reason why smoking cigarettes is so addicting. The second fastest way to get a drug to the brain is by injecting it, followed by snorting or sniffing it. The slowest mode of delivery to the brain is by ingestion. Fentanyl can be smoked, injected, snorted or swallowed. Morphine can also be smoked, injected or swallowed. Codeine can be injected or swallowed.

#5) Detoxification is only the beginning to being cured of drug abuse.

In order for someone to get clean from any type of drug abuse they must first get the drugs out of their system. A period of abstinence and detoxification is in order if one wants to become sober. However, what many fail to realize is that the greatest challenge to sobriety is not detoxification, but recovery. Recovery is learning how to stay sober. Recovery involves therapy that includes learning how to respond to bad news or hardships in life without turning to pain medications or other addictive substances.

In order to become an addict to anything one has to learn how to lie. Lying is always associated with addiction. Lying is used to hide the problem, deny the problem and denounce the obvious negative felt consequences. In fact, the biggest lie that is often told is the lie that an addict tells himself.

One program that has helped tens of thousands of people is Celebrate Recovery. Celebrate Recovery (CR) has helped people with backgrounds of a plethora of addictions.

SOURCES:

"Addiction & Recovery" (speaker Dr. Michael Lyles). Prescription Drug Abuse. Lesson 203. DVD. www.lightuniversity.com . 2009

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/The Most_Abused_Prescription_Drugs_in_the_US.html

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/55740.php

http://www.nida.nih.gov/researchreports/prescription/prescription4.html#Stimulants

http://www.prescriptiondrug-info.com/Drugs/Fentanyl.asp