Prescription Drug Addiction and Rehab - Research Paper Example

Also, greater efforts must be made in teaching not just to the laymen, but also professionals with regards to their roles in prescription drug abuse, due to their control over the release of such drugs to the public. Prescription Drug Abuse as a Social Problem Social problem is defined as the social condition that is perceived to have a generalized negative effect among many members of society, and is thus seen as a threat in maintaining the normalcy of living in most people, especially the most susceptible members of the population (Thio & Taylor, 2012).

However, these can only be seen by most people outside of the scope of the problem due to objectivity, and may not be considered as a negative issue among those afflicted with it which spurns from their subjective points of view. Some examples of social problems are domestic violence, civil unrest, human trafficking, and drug abuse, of which their common denominator is that opposing parties to these problems condone them, while those that support the continuity of such problems most likely see these issues as a means to an end.

One of the most important issues that hit closer to home is drug abuse, specifically the abuse of prescription drugs which is said to affect at least 2.7% of the population or at least 7 million people in the United States as of 2010 (Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, 2012). What makes this a social problem is that for those that abuse prescription drugs, it is easier for them to have access to these drugs as opposed to illicit drugs since they do not have to contact dealers, and that most of these prescription drugs may well be conveniently inside their homes, such as cough medicines, pain relievers, or sedatives (Executive Office of the President, EOP, 2011).

While these drugs are designed to be used safely as ordered by physicians, these medicines are still considered to be dangerous as improper use of such drugs can cause organ failures, render the user unconscious, or in most extreme cases, cause immediate death (Maxwell, 2006). It is thus important that the issue of prescription drug abuse be also treated in the same way as illicit drug abuse, whereas in addition to stricter regulations and enforcement in selling, the careful storage and disposal of excess medicine, and effective information campaigns for all age groups, professionals that have direct access to these drugs must also be monitored and regulated since their views on selling drugs could not only affect the outcome of the efforts in regulating the rampant abuse of prescription drugs, but also prolong the existence of the problem in society.

In comparison with the use of illicit drugs, the use of prescription drugs to attain the “high” that illegal drugs do to the body has been a relatively new issue, as the trends in the rise of prescription drug use for recreational purposes has only increased significantly in the past two decades, in comparison with the use of illicit drugs which spans for at least four decades (McCabe, Cranford & West, 2008). The increase in the usage of prescription drugs for recreation may have been borne out of the need to get high or low without the hassle of obtaining the drugs, as