Drug classes are not only for people who have been arrested for a drug-related incident. Anyone using any type of drug, including prescription medication could benefit from a drug class.
A recent report revealed that nearly two-thirds of patients neglect to take prescribed medications, use it too frequently or take medicine that was not prescribed to them. This as reported by ibtimes.com. Drugs that patients misused included painkillers such as Vicodin or oxycodone and amphetamines such as Adderall.
The high cost of some medication may be partially responsible for the use and misuse of medications. Some patients didn’t take meds they could not afford, while others skipped treatments or illegally sold their meds.
The report also showed that most of the patients who abused the medications, took them in higher doses than prescribed or took non-prescribed pills.
Few will deny that the world is facing a near-epidemic problem with prescription medication abuse!
Almost 15,000 people died of prescription drug overdoses, more than cocaine and heroin combined, in 2008.
How bad is the problem? In 2010, two million people reported using painkillers that were not prescribed to them for the first time -- almost 5,500 per day.
What do you think the answer is? I think more education, drug classes combined with counseling to help rehabilitate addicts. If you or someone you care about has a drug problem, please seek help. If you prefer to maintain anonymity, there are online drug classes too.