Opioid Abuse Case Study

In Ohio, prescription painkillers, also known as opioids, accounted for nearly sixty-three percent of unintentional drug overdoses during 2010 (Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, 2012). Opioid abuse has taken the lives of many Ohioans of all ages, but teenagers are particularly susceptible to addiction because of family influence, peer pressure, athletic injury, and lack of knowledge. While these factors may contribute to the escalation in adolescent opioid dependence, the main cause is the availability of these prescription drugs. Adolescents that grow up in drug abusing homes are more likely to develop an addiction in the future. Adolescence is a time of shaping personalities and developing character. These qualities …show more content…
Many teenagers abuse prescription painkillers because they are unaware of the dangerous consequences; they believe they are safe because a doctor prescribes them. The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (2013) states, “More than a quarter of teens (27 percent) mistakenly believe that misusing and abusing prescription drugs is safer than using street drugs.” What they fail to realize is the medication dosages are modified to a specific person for specific problems. Abusing their own or another individual’s prescription can lead to health complications in the future. Parents may also unknowingly contribute to their teenagers’ opioid abuse because they believe prescription drugs can improve their success in school. As stated by the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (2013), “In fact, nearly one-third of parents say they believe Rx stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall, normally prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can improve a teen’s academic performance even if the teen does not have ADHD.” While medications for ADHD improve focus, they are not beneficial to people without the disorder. Lacking knowledge about the consequences of abusing prescription opioids can lead to a future medical complication, addiction, or drug …show more content…
Teenagers can easily find prescription painkillers in their own homes or at the doctor’s office. Many families have leftover prescriptions sitting in their medicine cabinets. This makes it easy for an adolescent to steal opioids without anyone realizing it. Joseph Califano, president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, states, “The statistics showed that 34 percent of teenagers abusing prescription drugs, like OxyContin and Vicodin, obtained them at home or from their parents.” Teenagers can also easily obtain opioids from their family physicians. They can easily fake pain and injuries and have their doctor write an unnecessary prescription to satisfy their addictions. Doctors are not easily able to test if a patient is lying about their pain, so frequently they prescribe unneeded medications like opioids. Colleen Arnold, an emergency room doctor at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital, states, “many doctors don’t have the time to distinguish a real medical need for a drug from an addiction.” Teenagers are becoming addicted to opioids because they are so easily

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