Prescription Drug Abuse: Not All “Drugs” Are Illegal (Part 2) October 17
We shared with you in a previous post a type of depressant that has become one of the drugs that is commonly being abused – barbiturates. As mentioned in that introductory post, the medications that are being abused are not just barbiturates. On this post, we will be sharing with you a few more.
Benzodiazepines are another type of depressant; they are more commonly known or associated with the brand names Valium and Xanax. Someone who has had a spam mail or two will definitely be familiar with these brands, as they are being sold rampantly over the Internet and are in the subject lines of most spam e-mails.
The legitimate use of these medications is for the treatment of anxiety and panic attacks, reactions to acute stress, convulsions and sleep disorders in the short-term.
The other class of drugs that can be habit forming and has found other non-medical uses is pain relievers. Codeine and morphine are the two more common ingredients in abused medications; examples of brand names that contain morphine are Oramorph and Aviniza.
One drug that may sound familiar to a lot of people is OxyContin. This brand, along with Percocet and Percodan, contain oxycodone, an opioid pain reliever. Aside from this common active ingredient, Percocet also contains acetaminophen, while Percodan contains aspirin. While ideally their sole purpose is to relieve pain under the strict supervision of a physician, the drug has found its way into medication cocktails along with barbiturates, antihistamines or benzodiazepines, flushed down with alcohol – sometimes leading to fatal consequences.
Vicodin is another common brand name in spam e-mails offering internet deals on prescription drugs, with the all-important clause: “no prescription required!”. It, along with the drugs Lortab and Lorcet, have in common the opioid hydrocodone and acetaminophen. These medicines are meant to be taken only by the person for which it was prescribed, which means that it can only be taken under the supervision of a medical professional – the only person authorized to prescribe these controlled drugs.
Vicodin, Lortab and Lorcet can cause drowsiness, constipation, and may depress breathing.
Tags: abusing prescription drugs, celebrity prescription drug abuse, danger of prescription drugs, prescription drug abuse, prescription drugs, prescription meds