VIDEO: the death of heath ledger
This MSNBC news broadcast breaks the news of actor Heath Ledger's fatal overdose. Medications and two empty pill bottles were found in the actor's room, one prescription and one non-prescription.
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introduction
According to a recent Gallup poll, the use and temptation of drugs is the leading problem that American teenagers and young adults face. One in twelve Americans over the age of 12 admits that they currently use illicit drugs. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, one in five teenagers admits to using prescription drugs to get high, and one in ten teenagers admits to using over the counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines to get high. Nearly two-thirds of teens report that prescription pain relievers are easy to find at home, in the medicine cabinet. Healthy People 2010 shows that 30% of all deaths in the United States are premature because of psychoactive substances. The leading causes of death in Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 are accidents, suicides, and homicides…in many cases directly because of drug use. Almost all drug use begins in the teenage years where conflict, pressure, temptation, curiosity, and drug availability are all increasingly present. However, regardless of age, class, gender, or religion, all groups are susceptible to fall victim to the appeal and effects of psychoactive drugs.
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how does prescription drug addiction occur?
Narcotics, or painkillers, are drugs commonly prescribed to patients to alleviate intense pain and suffering. Morphine, an opiate, is one of the most commonly prescribed narcotics. However, opium is also present in the street drug heroin and creates hallucinogenic changes in mood and feeling. Natural pain remedies such as the coca leaf has a modern derivative in the street drug cocaine, which has become increasingly abused in the past 20 years. Cocaine acts as a central nervous system stimulant (creating “highs” because of nervous system overactivity) and as an appetite suppressant. It becomes easier to understand the addictive effects of prescription drugs when their relationship to illicit drugs is explained. Patients who take prescription drugs for pain and post-operative management sometimes find themselves addicted to the pleasant effects of the drug (mood change, increased sensation, alleviation of depression) and continue administration of the drug long after the intended result of the drug is achieved.
(Sanberg, Paul, Ph.D. and Michael Bunsey. "Prescription Narcotics: The Addictive Painkillers." Chelsea House Publishers: 1986.)
The goals of this blog are to:
.educate readers about the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse
.explain the appeal, availability, and dangers of abuse, specifically among teens, and discuss treatment
.supply parents with prescription and OTC drug abuse warning signs and stress the importance of communicating with teens
.provide a variety of sources and information so readers can further their knowledge of this increasingly-present and often-overlooked form of substance abuse
According to a recent Gallup poll, the use and temptation of drugs is the leading problem that American teenagers and young adults face. One in twelve Americans over the age of 12 admits that they currently use illicit drugs. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, one in five teenagers admits to using prescription drugs to get high, and one in ten teenagers admits to using over the counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines to get high. Nearly two-thirds of teens report that prescription pain relievers are easy to find at home, in the medicine cabinet. Healthy People 2010 shows that 30% of all deaths in the United States are premature because of psychoactive substances. The leading causes of death in Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 are accidents, suicides, and homicides…in many cases directly because of drug use. Almost all drug use begins in the teenage years where conflict, pressure, temptation, curiosity, and drug availability are all increasingly present. However, regardless of age, class, gender, or religion, all groups are susceptible to fall victim to the appeal and effects of psychoactive drugs.
Source
Image
how does prescription drug addiction occur?
Narcotics, or painkillers, are drugs commonly prescribed to patients to alleviate intense pain and suffering. Morphine, an opiate, is one of the most commonly prescribed narcotics. However, opium is also present in the street drug heroin and creates hallucinogenic changes in mood and feeling. Natural pain remedies such as the coca leaf has a modern derivative in the street drug cocaine, which has become increasingly abused in the past 20 years. Cocaine acts as a central nervous system stimulant (creating “highs” because of nervous system overactivity) and as an appetite suppressant. It becomes easier to understand the addictive effects of prescription drugs when their relationship to illicit drugs is explained. Patients who take prescription drugs for pain and post-operative management sometimes find themselves addicted to the pleasant effects of the drug (mood change, increased sensation, alleviation of depression) and continue administration of the drug long after the intended result of the drug is achieved.
(Sanberg, Paul, Ph.D. and Michael Bunsey. "Prescription Narcotics: The Addictive Painkillers." Chelsea House Publishers: 1986.)
The goals of this blog are to:
.educate readers about the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse
.explain the appeal, availability, and dangers of abuse, specifically among teens, and discuss treatment
.supply parents with prescription and OTC drug abuse warning signs and stress the importance of communicating with teens
.provide a variety of sources and information so readers can further their knowledge of this increasingly-present and often-overlooked form of substance abuse
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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I like how you used this video. It's a relevant one that sheds light on this huge drug epidemic.
ReplyDeleteHow sad. I remember I cried when I heard Heath Ledger had died. He was a remarkable person and actor. So unfortunate that this problem resulted in his death.
ReplyDeleteI think that Heath Ledger's death was so tragic. The only "good" thing that came of his passing is that at least it brought much needed attention to this issue that takes lives, like Heaths, all of the time.
ReplyDeleteyeah and there needs to be even more attention brought to this issue. preventable deaths are always a tragedy.
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