Reducing Drug trafficking in the US Research Paper

Reducing Drug trafficking in the US - Research Paper Example One of the facets of prescription drug abuse is opioid abuse, which is abused by more than 7 million people. In discussing this problem, this paper will indicate the breakdown of statistics related to this problem, discuss the factors that drive this high prevalence of prescription drug abuse, the main prescription drugs abuses and then give proposed solutions to the problem. This section will also propose treatment methods for prescription drug abuse. In the United States, the more than 7 million people reported to be abusing prescription drugs make up about 2.7 percent of the whole population, a statistics that indicates the seriousness and prevalence of the problem. The main prescription drugs abused are those that focus on the central nervous system and the drugs that are used medically for psychiatric problems. This means that the main drugs abused fall under pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants or sedatives. Reports indicate that adolescents and young adults mainly abuse p rescription drugs that are served over-the-counter. This is also the same for other individuals, although a significant number do doctor-hopping; the process of getting the same prescriptions from different doctors. This high prevalence of prescription drug abuse is usually driven by three main factors. The first factor is the misperception that people have about the safety of the drugs. Many individuals assume that since the drugs are prescribed by doctors, they should be safe to take, and even with the increasing abuse, are not as bad as illegal drugs. What the public fails to understand is that prescription drugs work on the central nervous system in much the same way as illicit drugs. Another driving factor is the increasing availability of these drugs. With the ease at which people get prescription drugs over the counter, statistics for abuse are steadily increasing. The last reason that mainly drives prescription drug abuse is the motivations for their use. Most individuals st art taking the drugs for disease or some problem. However, the continued attachment to these drugs increases the prevalence of abuse. Drugs like opioids, when abused, have severe risks to the human body. The first risk factor associated with opioid abuse is addiction. From research, it is seen that opioids act on the same receptors in the brain as heroine and similar drugs. Causes Drug trafficking is made possible when there is a demand and supply chain. It is an opportunity created by a communities’ dependence on substances that enhance abilities or suppress emotions that a person is not ready to handle. Nevertheless, dependence alone is not the cause; the cause comes when one starts abusing the drug. These drugs vary from prescription drugs to those that are illicit. However, in recent times there has been an upsurge in the abuse of prescription drugs. According to recent data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, (NSDUH), a third of the people above twelve years of age who started using drugs in 2009 started by taking prescription drugs without a medical reason. Additionally, the report ‘Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis, shows that the number of people refilling ‘Opioid pain relievers’ prescriptions has increased as has the dosage prescribed to them. In the same report, prescription drugs come second as the most abused drug after marijuana. Prescription drugs are easy to access especially painkillers. This is because families and