Essay on Drugging America

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Drugging America

Ed pawluk
Yearbook IDC 4UT/OU
Friday may 6, 2011
Drugs are defined as “a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being.”(Dictionary.refferance.com) Drugs have a long history as they have been around longer than man-kind; in their plant forms, even before we knew the consequences of use and side effects on the human body. Drug-related incidents have taken more human lives than have been recorded and the number is still on the rise. If tobacco-related deaths, alcohol-related deaths, drug over-doses and other drug-related deaths were summed up, the number would dwarf any other catastrophe in comparison. Drugs come in all different forms with different effects and different names. One popular type of drug that's on the rise in the present generation is prescription drugs. Prescription drugs are considered to be the worst of them all because the products are mass produced, legal, which makes the market huge compared to the illegal drug trade. Also, there are so many different types of prescription drugs out there where the potential for abuse is very high. The abuse of prescription drugs is becoming an epidemic. This is mainly because the abusers consist of young adults starting from age 12 to adults who are 60 years and older. If someone takes prescription drugs that are not prescribed for them by a doctor, it is considered to be prescription drug abuse. The history of prescription drug abuse is very old as it can be dated back to the civil war. Soldiers who were given morphine injections to help relieve their pain from combat wounds continued using the injections long after the pain stopped. In those days there were no laws to regulate the prescription drug industry. In present day there are many laws against the illegal use or sale of prescription drugs, yet mass amounts of people are addicted to these drugs. There are many different answers to why people abuse prescription drugs. For example, some are trying to experiment with drugs in their school and happen to come across them. Many abuse drugs that are prescribed to them by doctors just to get a feeling of well being. The most abused prescription drugs are depressants, mood enhancers, opiates and stimulants. After marijuana, prescription drugs are second on the list of most abused drugs in America. Prescription drugs have helped a lot of ill people and will likely continue to do so. These drugs are also very dangerous and the pharmaceutical companies should be more aware of the products they are marketing to the public. The companies have not shown proper care in the production of their products. These companies have ruined a countless number of lives as a result of drug addiction; all they care about is making a profit to support their high-maintenance lifestyles.

Over the years prescription drugs have helped millions of people with everything from the common cold to the treatment of cancer. Prescription drugs have done wonders for the world of medical science but at the same time they have caused a significant amount of problems. Drug recalls have plagued the pharmaceutical companies for decades because of the harsh outcomes of the lawsuits they have to face. Thalimode was introduced as a sedative drug in 1957 and was removed from shelves in 1961 due to its side effects. It was sold in a number of countries all across the world, mainly to help pregnant woman get over morning sickness. It was withdrawn from the market after being responsible for causing birth defects. It is not clear as to how many people were affected by the drug but it is believed to range somewhere from 10,000 to 20,000. After learning about the side effects of thalidomide the drug was quickly banned in countries all around the world, Canada being the last country to prohibit it on March 2, 1962. It was not until 30 years after the FDA approved the use of thalidomide for the
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