Drug Misuse

Drug misuse is a big problem today. This refers to the usage of drugs other than its real intended purpose. Misused drugs consist of both prescription drugs and over the counter drugs. However, the more serious problems revolve around prescription drugs. Prescribed drugs, or medications, have clinical efficacy. They have gone through in-depth studies for their proper dosages and medical uses. This is to prevent the users from taking damage to their bodies, such as the harm that can come from the unsavory side effects.

Using a drug for a purpose other than what was prescribed by the doctor has many risks. These drugs have the aim to help and heal, not to destroy and damage, which it will do to both the user’s physiology and psychology. Prescription drugs could be any drug the medical practitioners use, such as psychiatric medications, sedatives, stimulants, anxiolytics, or even analgesics. But because they are prescribed for very specific purposes, they are also vulnerable to improper use.

Some users control their drug misuse and are able to manage the drug’s effects to benefit them in different ways, such as losing weight or alleviating fatigue. If the user, however, is not aware of the misused drug’s effects, the drug misused can easily turn into drug abuse. The user can lose their control over their drug intake and their craving may escalate to dangerous levels, and their want for the “high” may become too much for them to resist. There are three common sources for drug misuse: drug availability, vulnerable personality, and social pressures.

Example of these drugs are pain relievers, depressants, stimulants, and over the counter drugs. Pain relievers are, as their name states, drugs that are used to relive pain, such as narcotics, like morphine, and opiates. Taking an excessive amount of this type of drugs may lead to respiratory depression and even death due to overdose. Depressants are drugs that slow their brain functions and so it is given to patients who suffer from anxiety attacks and sleep disorders. Depressants are also called sedatives or tranquilizers, like Barbiturates or benzodiazepines.

Taking too much of this drug can lead to feelings of drowsiness, being uncoordinated, and difficulty in breathing. This might also lead to the user in becoming comatose. Stimulants are given to patients suffering from attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (or ADHD), narcolepsy, and even obesity.

Overindulging in stimulants can result in heartbeat abnormalities, which will then cause an increase in body temperature and cardiac arrest. Some examples are ecstasy and amphetamine derivatives. Over the counter drugs, or OTC, are treatments for common ailments such as allergies, colds, motion sicknesses. They can consist of many types of drugs, such as diet and sleeping pills. Misuse of large quantities of OTC drugs will cause grave harm to the users’ health.