Takahiro Aono
People usually take it for granted that prescription drug is safe. There are some people who abuse the system, but there are others who know that without prescription services such as Canada Drugs, they wouldn’t be able to get the medicine they need in order to treat any conditions they have. Why? Because it is a prescription pad your doctor wrote for your own and it a prescription drug a pharmacist filled for you.
However, could it be a rational reason that you can convince yourself that prescription drug is safe? Some of the most common drugs that are regularly taken by the public may not be as safe as doctors will make them out to be. Orphan drugs (drugs used to safely treat people with rare diseases that affect less than 200,000 people in the U.S) may actually be more safe than the most common prescription drugs. Most Orphan Drug Distributors believe that the drugs being used to treat those with rare diseases are very safe and effective. But can the same actually be said for some of the most popular prescription drugs?
“I think it’s helpful if you’re sick,” said Susan Kim, a 35-year-old student in biology. “I think it’s only to use properly. A person using drugs should be wise, but the doctor should recognize that person can’t be responsible. ” she said.
This could be an individual problem different from other illegal drugs because just holding prescription drugs is completely lawful.
But, prescription drug abuse is huge problem in America. While reputable drug companies produce a variety of pills in their clean laboratories, the problem has been less likely to come up to the surface. Just because a drug is prescribed by a doctor, doesn’t mean that the patient canot missuse the trust of the doctor. As well as patients taking advantge of the system, doctors can do this too. Take Dr Mahmud Kara for example. He is now jailed on a number of drug trafficking charges. You would think someone in this profession would know better. But clearly not. With this being said, not all experts are like this and not all drugs are harmful.
“There are many drugs that can be harmful if you can’t take it appropriately,” said Beth Benne, director of Pierce College Student Health Center. “Most of them are pain killers. That’s the broad category that increases risk of addiction, and there are other hundreds drugs,” she said.
There are two types of possibly addictive drugs. The one is used to control pain such as Codeine, Vicodin and Morphine. The other is used to manage anxiety such as Xanax and Abilify.
“Often time problem is anti-depression or anti-anxiety medication because people are not using properly,” said Benne. She said that there are specific risks in those drugs whether to be addicted and to even commit suicide.
However, it does not mean that anyone becomes addicted and that you should not dose those drugs. There are personality traits that make person more prone to addiction.
“Addictive personality,” Benne called, regarding the personal compatibility with medicines. “Whether be addicted to nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, heroin or prescribed drug, some personality traits make individuals more likely to be addictive,” she said.
Also, tolerance, which a body tends to adjust to the presence of a drug, depends on individuals. When narcotic substances are dosed on a regular basis, the body becomes tolerant to it and the medicine becomes less effective.
“It becomes no longer effective,” Benne said. “It’s just simply treating a symptom, but not cause of the pain. They continue to need the drug because it’s soon stopped,” she said.
“Pain is subjective. Everybody has different subjective view of pain because all we have different pain tolerance level,” she added.
A person needs a larger dosage to have the same effect which could be obtained by a smaller dosage. This activity increases the risk of addiction.
Some people dare to “doctor shop” by using false names when they need more medicines than what the doctor prescribed.
“You cannot forge prescription or prescription drugs,” said Deputy Alfred Guerrero who is in charge of the legality of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “Drugs are actually made for the individuals not to share. It is a violation of the California Health and Safety Code,” he said.
But, you do not have to be too precautious of being addicted even though there is an absolute pain.
“You’re absolutely right that people think prescription drugs are fine,” said Benne. She said that you have to be aware of when you need to stop dosing if it is not comfortable.” You have to be aware of how some drugs are highly addictive.
“There are two ends of spectrum. You’ve got to find a happy medium not to be addicted,” Benne said. “You don’t want to be a person being with a pain, but you don’t want to become addicted either,” she said. We after all have to find individual ways to get along with prescription drugs.
