Everybody’s Doing It: Initiation to Prescription Drug Misuse

Name Instructor Course Date Everybody’s Doing It: Initiation to Prescription Drug Misuse Nonmedical prescription drug use is a growing heath problem in the US and mainly affects young adults. There has been an increase in the non-medical prescription stimulant use rate in the US and while there are those who use prescription stimulants, others have misused prescription stimulants, and there are many cases of disorders. The widespread use of prescriptions normalizes the drug use and results in higher increased non-medical prescription analgesics, sedative and stimulants mostly because of peer recommendations and drug diversion. Unlike the use of hard drugs, which is considered deviant and unacceptable behavior, the use of prescription drugs is more socially acceptable in the US even as it leads to addictions. Young adults procure prescription drugs for nonmedical use through their prescription, peers with prescriptions, parents and friends. Since people aged 18-25 have the highest rate of using psychotherapeutics, the researchers interviewed people in the age group to better understand what influences nonmedical prescription drug initiation process (Mui, Sales and Murphy 248). Both individual and societal factors influence the non-medical prescription use and non-medical used includes other ways other than what is directed by a doctor. The circumstances under which the students were exposed to prescription drugs were singled out as factors that influenced the participants’ decisions. Rather than focus on the prevalence and incidence of abuse/ misuse prescription drugs like many studies, the researchers go beyond this and focus on what influences the students/ young adults’ decisions and effect of nonmedical prescription drug use. Exposure to drug-using experience increases that individuals will become users, and this includes cases of friends introducing others to nonmedical prescription use. The notion that everybody is doing drugs normalizes the practice and it seems harmless since if there close people known to use the drugs it seems okay. This especially when there is access with the peers and friends influencing others and this becomes a problem when the prescription drugs are taken greater quantity and/ or frequency than what is recommended. In the case of prescriptions that are lowly price and less regulations for prescription there is greater access and opportunities for abuse/misuse. The interaction of individual and environmental factors are considered to explain what infl...