Sadly, it makes some amount of sense that prescription drugs have become the most-misused drugs in the United States. Addicts do not need drug dealers in order to get their hands on prescription medications. All they need is friends, family or acquaintances whose doctors have prescribed them medication – in fact, a addict could even attempt to have their own doctor prescribe them the medication. In fact, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that in 2008, 55 percent of prescription drug abusers received their drugs for free from people they knew; another 11.4 percent purchased prescription drugs from family members or friends; 4.8 percent stole drugs from relatives/friends; another 17.3 percent of addicts obtained prescription drugs from their own doctors. Overall, only 4.4 percent of prescription drug abusers had to obtain their drugs from a dealer or stranger.
In short, society is now overflowing with prescription drugs that are being distributed unlawfully. As a result, the death toll from prescription drug overdoses continues to rise. The CDC has revealed that, while four in every 100,000 Americans died from prescription drug overdoses in 1990, more than 12 in every 100,000 died in 2008. In New Mexico and West Virginia, the death rate was 27 in every 100,000 and 25.8 in every 100,000, respectively.
Altogether, prescription drug abuse took the lives of 36,450 Americans in 2008, a rate close to 100 people a day. There is hope, however, that this type of drug abuse will become a less prevalent once people begin to realize that prescription medication can be as dangerous as hard street drugs.
This infographic is presented by Origins Recovery. Visit www.originsrecovery.com for more information on drug abuse.
Here in Tennessee, we are having a huge problem with infants born addicted to painkillers. Actually, that is majority of infants in our NICUs right now. It is so sad that Americans have become like that.
In our area there was a big bust recently of pain management doctors who were just writing presciptions pretty much for anyone who wanted them without actually evaluating anyone. My fiance was on workers comp for a few years and his doctors gave him a very low dose pain killer because he had shoulder sugery. He took them only for a day or two and then switched to OTC stuff as needed. Because he also had a back injury his doctor had him try a chiropracter, massage therapy, a TENS unit and a bunch of other stuff besides just giving him pills (which he RARELY took)
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Thank you for the awesome article. I have had back surgery and in major pain and its sad that there are so many abuse the pain medication because the people that really need go through a lot to get help and a little pain relief.
Its so true. They people who really need the pain medication due to injury are the ones who have the hard time getting it. The abusers give everyone else a bad wrap!