Prescription drug abuse /
compiled by H. W. Wilson, a division of EBSCO Information Services.
- xiv, 215 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm.
- The reference shelf ; volume 89, number 5 .
- Reference shelf ; v. 89, no. 5. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-210) and index.
National disorder: treating chronic conditions -- Taking on the scourge of opioids / How prescription-drug abuse unleashed a heroin epidemic / The truth about prescription pills: one writer's story of anxiety and addiction / Almost half of all opioid misuse starts with a friend or family member's prescription / Yes, benzos are bad for you / Casualties of the VA / War on prescription drugs: what if you depend on opioids to live a decent life? / Sally Satel -- Kevin D. Williamson -- Kelley McMillan -- Roni Dengler -- Allen Frances -- David French -- S.E. Smith. 1: Pain and anxiety in America -- Spectrum of risk -- Prescription drug abuse among older adults is harder to detect / Old and overmedicated: the real drug problem in nursing homes / Fatal friendships: what happens when women share drugs on Facebook / College students aren't the only ones abusing Adderall / Smack epidemic / US child opioid overdoses increased over past two decades, research finds / The hefty price of "study drug" misuse on college campuses / Risky alone, deadly together / Constance Gustke -- Ina Jaffe and Robert Benincasa -- Jill DiDonato -- Emma Pierson -- L. Jon Wertheim -- Jessica Glenza -- Linda Begdache -- Kimberly Kindy and Dan Keating. 2: Drugs for young and old -- The prescription drug business -- The selling of attention deficit disorder / When the mailman unwittingly becomes a drug dealer / Alison's story: how $750,000 in drug "treatment" destroyed her life / Drug-company payments mirror doctors' brand-name prescribing / Opioid Rx abuse probe sees a record 31 doctors hit with sanctions in New Jersey / Alan Schwarz -- Arian Campo-Flores and Jon Kamp -- Warren Richey -- Charles Ornstein, Ryann Grochowski Jones, and Mike Tigas -- Elizabeth Llorente. 3: Doctors, big pharma and the gateway to abuse -- Treatment and wellness -- A primary care doctor delves into the opioid epidemic / The doctors who started the opioid epidemic / The painkillers that could end the opioid crisis / How medical marijuana could help end the opioid epidemic / What's really causing the prescription drug crisis? / After medical marijuana legalized, Medicare prescriptions drop for many drugs / Monique Tello -- Paul A. Offit -- Can we curb the opioid abuse epidemic by rethinking chronic pain? / Richard Gunderman -- Adam Piore -- Eric Killelea -- Johann Hari -- Shefali Luthra. 4: A search for solutions - treatment -- The policy approach: restricting supply and legalizing treatment -- Researchers use black-market drug website to gauge public health / Are pharmaceutical companies to blame for the opioid epidemic? / Ohio sues five drugmakers, saying they fueled opioid crisis / Congress probes West Virginia opioid shipments / States require opioid prescribers to check for "doctor shopping" / Felice J. Freyer -- Alana Semuels -- Jeanne Whalen -- Eric Eyre -- Christine Vestal. 5: A search for solutions - policy --
In the modern world, physicians prescribe a multitude of medications, most derived from natural substances, to treat various bodily and mental disorders and some of the substances used also have a pleasurable neurological effect, creating a sense of euphoria, a tranquilizing effect, or intensifying alertness and focus. Over time, drug addiction and abuse has become a social justice and public health concern around the world. Governments have responded to addiction and drug abuse epidemics by banning the use of certain substances, but such efforts are not very efficacious and, instead, tend to result in the birth of black markets and criminal underworld industries involved in the production and distribution of illicit substances. In the 2010s, the drug crisis du jour in the United States involves the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, substances developed as medications that have an intoxicating effect and so are also sought and used by individuals for recreation or to self-medicate. Because the supply of drugs cannot be completely eliminated without placing patients at risk, legislators, public health experts, and others working on the issue must struggle to balance the needs of patients with the effort to stem the tide of abuse. - Publisher/Preface