According to addiction experts, many people overuse or abuse prescription pain relievers because they mistakenly believe that prescription drugs are safer than street drugs like heroin, crack, or methamphetamines.

According to data from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), non-medical use of painkillers resulted in approximately 8,500 deaths in 2005, and overdose deaths involving prescription pain medications jumped by about 114 percent between 2001 and 2005.

According to the ONDCP, prescription drug abuse is most common among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25. However, experts warn, people of all ages have the misconception that prescription drugs are not that dangerous.

Dr. Marvin Seppala, the chief medical officer at Hazelden, a drug and alcohol treatment center, comments: "I think people of all ages don't take medication as seriously as street drugs. There's sort of a naive belief they're safer. The truth is pain medications are in the same exact class as heroin, morphine -- they're very addictive."

In a 2007 study conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 15.5 percent of teenagers reported abusing prescription drugs and a significant number reported obtaining prescription drugs from a friend or family member, from a household medicine cabinet, or at a party.

Experts also warn that older adults are vulnerable to prescription drug addiction. Dr. Steven Juergens, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington and a private addiction specialist in Bellevue, Wash., comments, "Often what happens is someone experiences discomfort, anxiety, or pain. They start being treated with medicine, and need more. They're caught in this hell of using the drugs illicitly, not seeing it as a problem. It takes a while to unravel that."

(Source: cnn.com)

Labels: heroin, methamphetamines, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse