...The Drug Abuse Epidemic and Today’s Teenagers Drug abuse among teenagers has been an issue since the 1980’s when programs such as D.A.R.E., (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), were implemented. Using the slogan “Just Say No”, the program trained school officials and police officers to teach techniques and children and adolescents effective ways to resist experimenting with all drugs, including tobacco and alcohol. While there has been some success, this epidemic has become a major problem in today’s society that is not getting better due to the availability of prescription and over the counter medications, continued funding cuts for athletics and other extra-curricular activities and the increase in teenagers being left unsupervised. The availability of prescription and over the counter medications has made abuse easier among teens. Many parents do not even realize the dangers that are in their own medicine cabinets. “In 2011, 22% of 12th graders indicated misuse of a prescription drug without medical supervision in their lifetime; and 15% over the past year.” During that same time, one in 12 high school seniors reported that in the past year they had obtained the prescription pain reliever Vicodin, and one in 20 high school seniors used OxyContin for non-medical uses. And 70% of those teens surveyed had stated they obtained them from family and friends. (“Prescription” 2011). “Enough prescription painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult around-the-clock...
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...DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY TERMS Drug and alcohol abuse contributes to billions of dollars of lost productivity and thousands of work place injuries every year. Our policy is to employ a work force free from alcohol abuse or the use of illegal drugs. This company takes drug and alcohol abuse as a serious matter and will not tolerate it. The company absolutely prohibits the use of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs at the work place or while on company premises. It also discourages non-work place drug and alcohol abuse. The use, sale or possession of alcohol or drugs while on the job or on company property will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination, and may have legal consequences. Employees are expected and required to report to work on time and in appropriate mental and physical condition for work. It is our intent and obligation to provide a drug-free, healthful and safe work environment. [Company Name] reserves the right to demand a drug or alcohol test of any employee based upon reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion includes, but is not limited to, physical evidence of use, involvement in an accident, or a substantial drop off in work performance. Failure to take a requested test may lead to discipline, including possible termination. The company also cautions against use of prescribed or over-the-counter medication which can affect your work place performance. You may be suspended or discharged if the company concludes that you cannot...
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...Legal and Illegal Drugs Gladys Vazquez Rasmussen College The war on drugs started in 1971 by President Nixon, but the fight didn’t start there (NPR, 2012). In 1914 the US enacted the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, which was the starting point to make drugs illegal, but the classification of drugs was more of a social problem rather than a social issue (Brecher, 2006). Drugs can be defined as ANY substance other than food or water that when taken into the body alters its functioning in some way (College, 2011). Cocaine, Heroin, Crack, and Alcohol are not the only drugs that alter the body that can be considered a drug. Caffeinated soda, coffee, diet pills, tobacco, prescription medication, and more all affect the body and alter the mind in a negative way. Going back in time when Christopher Columbus founded America, we wer e introduced to our very first drug known as tobacco (Cushman, 2011). That’s 520 years ago and still an issue in society. Smoking is set to kill 6.5 million people in 2015 and 8.3 million humans in 2030, with the biggest rise in low-and middle-income countries (National Cancer Institute at the National Institues of Health). Each day about 13,500 people worldwide die from smoking-related diseases (National Cancer Institute at the National Institues of Health). Yet it is a legal substance that alters the mind and body, amazing how that works. Alcohol is another substance that is very harmful and alters the mind and body. Some will argue that used as a...
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...The Rise in Prescription Drug Abuse By: Laurie Mahaffey What is prescription drug abuse and who are the ones affected by it? Is it just young adults that are affected by prescription drug abuse or does this affect all generations? What are some of the prescription drugs that categorize this concern? What are the consequences of prescription drug abuse? What are some solutions to this problem? These questions concerning the rise in prescription drug abuse will be addressed in the following paragraphs. What is prescription drug abuse? According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Prescription drug Abuse is defined as the “intentional use” of a medication without a prescription; in a way other than described; or for the experience or feeling it causes. This means that there are three circumstances that pertain to abuse of prescription drug abuse. First, let’s look at “intentional use” without a prescription. It is a federal offense to give or sell prescription medication to someone other than who it is prescribed to. Reading the side label tells you, that “FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS THE TRANSFER OF THIS DRUG TO ANY PERSON OTHER THAN THE PATIENT FOR WHOM IT WAS PRESCRIBED.” One reason shown for taking someone else’s prescription was “if a Dr. prescribes, than naturally safe.” This reason is also true in why some people hand out their own medication. If it’s okay for them, it won’t hurt someone else. Second reason for what defines abuse, using in a way other than...
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...Lefebvre, Joseph Bentley University Over the Counter, Over Prescribed Prescription Drug Abuse Over the Counter, Over Prescribed Prescription Drug Abuse When describing a drug addict, the stereotypical description is usually someone who has no job, steals to get their fix, and is living their life in poverty because of their crippling addiction. The drug of choice for these “junkies” is typically black tar heroin. However in recent years this has not been the case. The age of prescription drugs is beginning and people are dying from prescription drug overdoses at an alarming rate. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), as seen in Figure 1 found in the Appendix, in 2010 there were 8.76 million prescription drug abusers (Drug Facts: Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications). Prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic in America and it is not isolated to the stereotypical addict, as doctors and emergency response teams are seeing more and more overdoses and individuals seeking medical attention who are in the upper middle class and lead a fairly “normal” life besides their addiction. The NIDA found that there are around 5.1 million people in the US suffer from substance abuse disorders related to prescription pain relievers (Figure 1, Appendix). Although pain killer abuse gets a lot of the prescription drug abuse headlines, there are other medications that are being abused namely stimulants. Because over the counter and prescription medicines are so...
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...Prescription Drugs In this society, most Americans use some type of prescription drug. According to this week chapter reading: “More than 80 % of U.S. adults use some form of medication, with 50 % taking a drug prescribed by a doctor. The average American fills 11 prescriptions per year spending approximately $ 771 annually (Gentzen, p. 245, 2007).” This is a true statement because I am one of those Americans who depend on prescription drugs. I have a seizure disorder that doctors have not found what cause me to have seizure. Without medication, I can have a seizure. So now I have become what society has called “addicted” to prescription drugs, when I go too long without medication, I can have a seizure at any given time. So I am glad that my team has chosen this topic to discuss. We talk about The History of Prescription Drugs, Drugs Addicts, and The steps that we believe that could be used to make a change to the present system. Prescription drugs are medicine regulated by legislation to require a prescription before it can be obtained. The term prescription drug is used separate from over-the-counter drugs that can be purchased without a prescription. In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act determines what requires a prescription. When obtaining a prescription, a person will also receive a pamphlet explaining the drug and helpful information about the effect of the drug and how it affects the body. It also describes side effects...
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...There is a drug crisis in America, but it is not the only crisis America is facing. I would say that there is a health crisis in America more so than a drug crisis. Even though the number of drug related deaths is quite high, there are still more health related deaths. In 2013, Heart Disease caused more than 600,000 deaths alone (Center for Disease Control, 2013) That being said, I do not think that drugs alone are killing America and that is the most serious issue we face. I still agree that drug use and abuse is a problem in America, and that this issue does need to be dealt with, but it is not our only problem. If America is going to focus on this drug issue, then it must recognize all drugs. Society is constantly placing the blame solely...
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...qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer...
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...Teens and Drugs Robert Lorenz COM/156 May 13, 2012 Patrick Misiti Teens and Drugs At the age of 12 I picked up a gun and shot and killed my sister’s best friend. I chose many things to try to cover up this pain that was created. I was building a wall around me as I was moving into my teenage years. At this time in my life my mother thought I should start learning about responsibilities, without thinking about what I had just went through. She wanted me to try to keep my brother and sister from doing things that they should not do. With all this placed on my shoulders, my teenage years flew by so fast; I had no time to figure out who I was. In today’s society we all live in a fast pass world, including our children. With this in mind it takes both parents to work to get all the bills paid on time and be able to save for retirement. What this has created is teenagers are held responsible for their younger siblings and left home alone. With this much responsibility, teenagers are growing up to fast and have too much freedom. With this freedom come more problems. Teenagers today are finding ways to deal with these problems and escape from the responsibilities placed on their shoulders. Young people are looking for anything to escape the reality of these responsibilities. Even though street drug use is down, drugs are easy for children and teenagers to get even from their own home. With the problems that teens face today, such as maintaining grades, finals, not...
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...economist approach to alcohol abuse and include the 4 elements of the economic way of thinking. I will be discussing supply and demand and how it affects prescription drugs and also how it is an important. I will be discussing increasing-cost industries as well as reviewing a perfectively competitive market. Impact of Economics An economics perspective of alcohol abuse would be that, even with significant harm is caused; they feel it should not be restricted. Economics assume that people, usually, are the best judges of themselves. Economist have also come to the conclusion that consumers tend to drink less alcohol, and have fewer alcohol-related problems, when alcoholic beverage prices are increased or alcohol availability is restricted. A possible solution to the alcohol abuse problem could be limiting which stores are able to sell the alcohol products. It is very easy to obtain alcohol and if it was not as easy to access, the sales would go down, causing the number of alcoholics to decrease. Another possible solution to alcohol abuse could be to enforce tougher penalties for alcohol related crimes and or alcohol related traffic violations. By doing this, the consumer might realize that the crime might not always be worth the time. Prescription drugs affect the supply and demand of other products and services in this country by the demand for over the counter drugs decreasing as the demand for prescription drugs goes up. More people are visiting...
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...Drugs and the effects they have on people and their loved ones around them. Melissa Strausser University of Phoenix Composition Class Olivia Miller January 19, 2014 . Whether from street drugs or prescription medications people become addicted because they feel drugs will help them deal with the problems they are facing in their lives. When it comes to the topic of drugs it is something that everyone faces, they range from the prescribed drugs people need to stay alive, to the street drugs people get themselves addicted to. Individuals all take the chance of addiction when prescribed medicine from the doctor for something that has happened. Individuals all need to go, but when it comes to taking the medicine that is given people are taking the step they never wish to go through the chance of becoming addicted. Many people ask themselves what the attraction is to the people who get themselves addicted to drugs is? A lot of people have done research to try and figure out what causes people to become addicted to drugs. Most people doing the research have failed in finding any true research to what causes people to become addicted to drugs. There are some drugs that people need to take, but the effects of other drugs is something people do not think about. There are people who are pregnant and do not realize that they are not only harming themselves but their newborn child. The problems that could happen are Alcoholic Fetal Syndrome (AFS). This is where the child is already...
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...UNDERSTANDING DRUG ADDICTION Chartorieah Shinez Sanders COM/156 03/26/2012 Nicholas Delzotto Understanding Drug Addiction All over the world, people are losing their loved ones to a mind altering disease called drug addiction. If something isn’t done; the disease will continue to grow, destroy happy homes and take more young lives. Drug addiction is a severe illness that people should be taught to avoid the continuing overwhelming of the nation. First you should learn what the disease is, who is affected, what causes the disease and how we can help those that are suffering from this disease. Drug addiction has been described as a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use (What is Drug Addiction?, Section para.3). Yes, it is true that individuals have the option to refuse these mind altering substances that cause addiction and other health risks but there are several risk factors that could influence the individuals decision such as, a person’s biology but that problem drinking and problem drug use are not caused exclusively by biologic traits says Christopher Freed (2010). While biology is not completely the cause of drug addiction, some people were born into a family that has a history of drug addiction and if you combine that with peer pressure or, the feeling of wanting to fit in; your outcome will be another individual who uses or is addicted to drugs. This is one of the biggest influences on many teenagers and young...
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...students all over the country know someone that uses or abuses at least one drug. Not only are drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines bad for you, over the counter drugs such as painkillers can be just as bad. Some people even make the choice to use steroids to have an advantage in athletics or just to look more physically fit. Drugs have been a serious issue for student athletes for a long time and are still an issue today. Drug testing of members of high school athletics and activities should take place to make sure that students aren’t making decisions that could turn into addictions and so that they are putting themselves in a position to be successful. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2013, drug use was down to just under twenty-nine percent. This was about seven percent lower than the year before. Drug use had started to decrease until the use of marijuana skyrocketed. Today, fifty percent of high school seniors have admitted to using an illegal sometime in their life and about thirty-five percent admitted to using marijuana in the past year (The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction). Also reported was the use of Adderall. Just fewer than...
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...D.A.R.E. Program Drug is a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. It is also, administered to (someone) in order to induce stupor or insensibility. Individuals have relied on drugs as their daily food. Back in the day, Americans used a lot of drugs in all states to get high. drugs like cocaine, oxycodone, marijuana, heroin and other drug the get people high like the word dope and weed. a program was created help reduce the of drug in the society. the program was believed that it will help educate young individuals so they won’t use drug in the future. this paper will be giving insight of the programs history, policy, ……… D.A.R.E. program was founded in 1983 in los angelis. It was founded when los angelis police departments reach high level of drug users in the society. The police department and school district in los angelis developed the program for children in elementary school and high school. The program was created to ensure that young children does not use drug in the future. Adult never stopped using drugs, some of them used drugs till it ended their life’s and it landed some at the hospital. This program was to educate school student to prevent them from attempting to use drug. Student who enter the program will sign a pledge not to use drug or join gang. The dare program has police officers as their instructor. Before a police officer can teach at the school, they have to undergo 80 hours...
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...a growing epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths; consequently, this crisis requires taking action in each of the following four key areas: Prevention, Intervention, Treatment, and Recovery Support (Executive Office of Health and Human Services, 2015). Drug addiction is a complex illness characterized by intense and, at times, uncontrollable drug craving, along with compulsive drug seeking and use that persist even in the face of devastating consequences ( National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015). There are so many advantages to providing care to this specific population. For instance, imagine the broken relationships that are often associated with someone who is suffering from a substance abuse illness. There is also potential for financial deficits related to the inability to obtain and or retain a job. There is an incredible risks of contracting infectious diseases while under the influence as well. The most effective plan of care for this population is prevention. Prevention to never using drugs starts with teaching children as young as junior high to say no to drugs. It has been reported children as young as 12 years old are experiencing with alcohol, tobacco such as cigarettes & or...
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