According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about 20 percent Americans have abused prescription medications, making it the second most commonly abused drug type behind marijuana. Even more worrisome is the following statistic: more than 40 percent of drug overdoses seen in hospital emergency rooms were the result of prescription medications.
Many categories of prescription drugs have high potential for abuse, including stimulants (ADHD medications, diet pills), depressants / relaxants (valium, Xanax), narcotic pain killers (morphine, OxyContin), and sleeping pills (Ambien). Proper treatment depends entirely on the category of drug abused, and my include medicinal treatment with drugs like methadone, naltrexone, or buprenorphine, detoxification, 12-step programs or other support groups, behavioral therapy and counseling, nutritional and life skills coaching, and a reevaluation of prescription medications.
Because of the wide range of addictive prescription drugs, the lack of stigma attached to legal, and thus "safe" drugs, and the potential for confusion regarding proper dosage, prescription drug addiction is widespread and does not discriminate based on age, gender, or race. In fact, children and the elderly are the fastest-growing populations who abuse these types of drugs. Prescription drugs are often too easily available, as well, when people choose to not lock them up or to dispose of them improperly.
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