Dose of Reality

Caitlin Perkovich
Professor Greg Shows
English 1301.XS3
29 November 2010
Dose of Reality
“Oxycotton, Xanax Bars, Percocets, and Lortabs, Valium, Morphine, Patches, Ecstasy, and it's all up for grab…” with lyrics such as these from Lil’ Wyte and music artists alike flooding the mp3 players and radio stations of teens and young adults, it is evident that the use of drugs is widely publicized, and somewhat encouraged. Unfortunately, the dangers of drugs are not made quite as apparent, especially prescription drugs, which are having a steady up rise in the percentage of users while the age of those prescribed to the medication, or use it for recreational use is becoming lower.   There are many contributing factors that contribute to the climbing rates of legal and illicit prescription drug use including development in disease research, misperceptions that they are “safer” than illicit drugs,
      The number of prescriptions for controlled medications such as opioids and stimulants has nearly doubled in adolescents and young adults since 1994.The trend, reported in the December issue of Pediatrics, mirrors a similar increase in misuse of these drugs, with adolescents and young adults' illicit use of prescription drugs now outstripping all other illicit drug use except marijuana. According to a recent study conducted by the reserachers at the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the use of prescription drugs by the average American has grown over the past decade. Those whom take at least one prescription drug increased by 10%, while those making use of multiple medications grew by 20%. Considering the ten year time period, this may not propose as a shocking increase, but the number of Americans taking five or more prescriptions a day has increased an astonishing 70%. As of 2010, 48.3% of Americans take at least one prescription medication, and the numbers are still rising.
Viewed in demographic terms, results from the National Health and Nutrition...