The drug that is highlighted in this paper is opiates. Opiates come in many forms are usually prescribed as pain medication. Opiates include most prescription pain medications such as: heroin, morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, et al. These drugs, while good for a short time after a serious accident, surgery, or other medical condition, to control pain, are highly addictive and can become an addictive substance in an individual who is prone to addictive habits. (The Abuse of Prescription Drugs, 2009)
Although opiates are one of the most addictive substances and cause thousands of deaths from self-medicating, there are not many popular media sources which portray this drug as a huge problem. Most sources focus on alcohol, tobacco, and heroin. Some sources focus on marijuana which is not an opiate. However, it is difficult to find a documentary about prescription opiate addiction, such as codeine. However, one documentary on YouTube, uploaded in 2009, was informative about how serious deaths from prescription drugs is. (The Abuse of Prescription Drugs, 2009)
Not only does the prescribed opiate addiction affect the individual who is addicted, the family is an emotional wreck. If the addict dies as a result of the addiction, the community and especially those who loved him or her are typically in shock, dismay, and denial about ‘how can this kind of thing happening to such a nice person.?’ Unfortunately, the negative affects can happen to anyone who becomes addicted to a prescribed opiate. (The Abuse of Prescription Drugs, 2009)
According to the documentary, prescription pill addiction seems to be more prevalent in mainstream society than street drugs, according to the video. The idea that if a doctor prescribed it, than it would not harm you, seems to be a popular misconception that may contribute to the problem, especially in young adults, teenagers, and the general public. The documentary states that seven out of the ten drugs that high schoolers are taking, are prescription medication. The sad truth is that an individual can not only become addicted to prescription pain medication, he or she could end up arrested as a result. (The Abuse of Prescription Drugs, 2009)
According to the documentary, the internet allows users to obtain drugs from almost anywhere in the world. Many sources may or may not ask for a doctor verification, the drugs may not be what the website says they are, are illegally dispensing medication, and it is very difficult for law enforcement to track these sources. However, since the documentary was filmed law enforcement has more complicated and complex technology that is more capable of tracking this information. What they lack is the manpower to do so. The result is that many small one-time dealers are arrested and become felons for possessing a controlled substance without a prescription to do so. (The Abuse of Prescription Drugs, 2009)
The documentary does not specifically address most of the symptoms of addiction, however, some that are mentioned throughout are the drowsiness, inability to control cognitive function, and the fact that the person lives for the next high are several clues to an addiction to pain pills. The documentary talks about how prescription pain medication can lower an individual’s respitory rate until that individual stops breathing. In 2009, when this documentary was released, it was before the new medical record database, it was much easier for an individual to go to several doctors and lie to get pain medication prescribed. It is much more difficult to obtain prescription pain medication from varied sources now, which is good. However people still get them. (The Abuse of Prescription Drugs, 2009)
References
The Abuse of Prescription Drugs. (2009). [video] Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training (MCTFT).
