Prescription Drug Addictions

Prescription drug addiction is becoming a major problem in America. Prescription drugs are being prescribed for a wider variety of reasons and greatly increasing the chances that they will be misused.

People 60 years old and up are the age group most likely to be addicted to prescription drugs. As of 2000, over 17% of people over age 60 abused prescription drugs, many of them doing so unwittingly.

Prescription drug abuse is rising fastest among people 12 to 25. One reason for this is that many young people believe that prescription drugs are safe alternatives to illegal drugs.

The illegal sale of prescription drugs has increased enormously in recent years. Modern computer technology makes it very difficult for the authorities to track down operators of websites that sell prescription drugs over the Internet without requiring a prescription.

Source: ezinearticles.com

Celebrities Who Died From Prescription Drug Overdoses

• Michael Jackson (50) – died last month
• Heath Ledger, “Joker” in The Dark Knight (28) – died in 2008
• Anna Nicole Smith (39) - died in 2007
• Pimp C, Underground Kingz rapper, (33) – died in 2007
• Gerald Levert (40) – died in 2006 of an accidental combination of prescription medications
• Russell Jones, rapper “ODB” from the Wu-Tang Clan, (35) – died in 2004
• Dana Plato, actress on Diff'rent Strokes, (34) - died in 1999
• Rob Pilatus, member of Milli Vanilli, (32) – died in 1998
• Chris Farley, comedian, (33) – died in 1997
• Elvis Presley (42) – died in 1977
• Bruce Lee (32) – died in 1973
• Jimi Hendrix (27) – died in 1970
• Judy Garland, “Dorothy” in Wizard of Oz, (47) – died in 1969
• Dorothy Dandridge, first African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, (42) – died in 1965
• Dinah Washington, "Queen of the Blues,” (39) – died in 1963
• Marilyn Monroe (36) – died in 1962

How do you feel about these "eye-opening" statistics?

Do you know someone who is abusing prescription drugs?

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Comment by CJfrom Jersey on July 30, 2009 at 10:18pm: Have to be very careful too much of something is not good. I had a pinch nerve and the drug they gave me was not even on the market yet. I did research and stop taking it. I do nature stuff and even that you have to be careful. Its a shame prescription drugs are just legal drugs. They are not safe at all they all kill the same way. Its the addiction you think you need them and really dont.

Comment by Cynthia Davis on July 16, 2009 at 3:57pm: My stepmother has been addicted to pain killers (Vicodin and Valium) to my memory for at least 18 years. When I was younger she use to have me crush them up and give them to her and she always use to be stalking her mother (who also was addicted) and friends who where taking them for one ailment or another all the time. I did'nt realize till I had gotten much older that popin pain pills where another form of taken drugs.

Beleive you me........when they are addicted they go to some serious depths to get them, lying and stealing the whole nine yards, just like a junkie on the street, they are no different their drugs are just legal. Those drugs are so potent they have them nodding like a junkie too!

It's so sad!

Comment by Southern Girl on July 16, 2009 at 3:38pm: I had a One-Day Surgery to my abdomin last summer and upon release from the hospital, stopped at my local pharmacy to fill my pain perscription.

The pharmacy took my drivers license information and had me sign documents acknowledging:
1) That I was who I said I was.
2 That I was taking these meds post surgery for pain only and
3) That I would not give the drugs to anyone I knew in my home, nor sell these drugs to anyone in the streets!

Fearing this must be a really strong and addictive drug, I took the script for only two days. Thereafter IF I had any discomfort, I just took over-the-counter Ibuprofen.

Comment by MissyAnne on July 16, 2009 at 3:07pm: Did I miss when it was declared that MJ died of an overdose? I know it is a good possibility, but shouldn't we wait until it has been verified?
Anyway, the list is very disturbing, because this is just a list of the people that are very famous. It does not reflect the 10's of thousand we don't know. We can be standing right by someone, and unless they are wearing a sign on their forehead we will probably never know they are addicts.

Comment by Lea on July 16, 2009 at 1:00pm: Drug dealing whether legal or not can be a very lucrative business...it's all about the money for some. Children & adults are selling Vicodin, Ambien, Hydrocodone, and all kinds of prescription drugs in Elementary Schools through College (raiding medicine cabinets at home, and faking pain at the doctors offices)...Not sure what the cure for prescription drug abuse is, but it is alive well and living in America.

I'm sure that some drugs are needed and useful, but when they become "abuseful", then we need to take a deeper look at the root causes for the mass distribution, advertising "pushing" and ultimately the abuse of "legal stimulants".

Peace,
Lea

Comment by Andrea Martin on July 16, 2009 at 2:53am: I WAS ADDICTED TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS MYSELF.WHEN YOU ARE IN PAIN THE WAY I WAS IN PAIN ALL YOU WANT IS THE PAIN TO STOP! I STARTED TAKING THE PRESCRIBED DOSAGE,THEN I LIKED THE WAY I FELT,SO I STARTED ADDING 1OR 2 MORE TO THE 3 TIMES A DAY DOSAGE,SO I WAS TAKING FOUR TO FIVE PILLS A DAY! IT IS VERY EASY TO GET ADDICTED,BECAUSE AT THE TIME YOU ARE TAKING THE DRUG YOUR ARE JUST CONCENTRATING ON EASING THE PAIN! I'M TALKING ABOUT CHRONIC PAIN!

Prescription Drug Addictions

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