2008 Woodie Awards
Prescription drug abuse produces adverse effects
Joey Flis
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Culture
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Ramon Ryan, a medical review officer and doctor of internal medicine, said he believes that as a whole, "Our society has become more drug oriented."
Ryan said many people look to prescription drugs just to get through the day. "People will take amphetamines to stay awake all day then barbiturates at night to get to sleep," Ryan said.
Nancy Watts, director of the pharmacy technician program at Chattanooga State, said prescription drugs do not have the stigma of street drugs because they are believed to have less risk of contamination and are not "cooked at home" like many illegal street drugs.
But "Prescription drug abuse is the same as any drug abuse," Watts said.
Prescription overindulgence
"More prescriptions are written in Tennessee than any other state," Watts said.
Beverly Hawkins, pharmacy laboratory technician at Chattanooga State, said, "Before they revamped Tenncare, the average amount of prescriptions per Tenncare patient was 27, which is a tremendous amount of drugs."
Nancy Badger, director of counseling and career planning at UTC, said, "Prescription drug use is a problem nationally, and thus it impacts our campus. It is never wise to take medication that is not prescribed specifically for you."
According to Watts, "Most prescription abuse starts out with legitimate prescriptions."
College students who abuse drugs often acquire prescription drugs by taking them from family members, Watts said.
The drugs may have been prescribed for them for things like cancer, chronic long-term pain management, ADD or ADHD, Badger said.
Daniel Sims, a Chattanooga senior, said, "I think it [prescription drug abuse] is more common than people would assume."
Narcotics
Hydrocodone products are the most abused medications of all, Watts said. Loratab, Lorcet and Vicodin are popular brand names of these narcotics, she said.
"They are the number one prescribed drugs in the country," Watts said.
According to Ryan, doctors give out Loratab prescriptions so frequently in emergency rooms that they have been given the nickname "Vitamin L." He said addicts will fake injuries just so they can get a prescription.
