Prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse is a silent killer in America.
Far away from the high-profile police busts of drug lords and heroin dealers catering to the suburban high school student, people of all ages are dying, without awareness, from years of pill abuse. Long swept under the rug, these issues need to be addressed to save lives.
Prescription and OTC drug abuse does not discriminate. Regardless of an individual’s social class, status, gender identity, race or age, he or she could be at risk of substance abuse. What begins as a method to cope with a new pain can become a debilitating crutch. An 80-year-old woman with no history of substance abuse can develop a physical or ?psychological dependency after a round of opioids following a surgery, just as a stressed college student can lean on stimulants to stay awake or thin.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, OTC drugs are the most commonly abused substances by Americans ages 14 and older, after alcohol and marijuana. The Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force states that 50 Americans die each day from a prescription drug overdose, and that more than 6 million people currently suffer from prescription drug abuse issues in the U.S.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller spearheaded the aforementioned task force in 2012. Uniting professionals and community members from a variety of backgrounds, it has translated a statewide initiative into a grass roots setting. Educators, health care professionals, social service workers and other community leaders come together via the task force to raise awareness of these addictions, eradicate prejudice and appropriate funds toward agencies that combat abuse and addiction.
However, most of the group’s efforts are geared toward teens and young adults. Much of the groundwork this task force and similar associations have begun must be carried out by all citizens. It is up to the general public to raise awareness of these issues among their peers and work to combat the shame and guilt that is so embedded within addictions.
Resolve to add this awareness into your life by simply checking yourself each time you begin to assume something about one of your neighbors.
When someone becomes addicted to a substance, his or her previous sense of self are largely abandoned; life becomes a quest for the next fix. Family and friends can unintentionally become suppliers of the drug.
Never enable or ignore a potential substance abuse issue, for the individual experiencing the dependence may not be able to ask for help until it’s too late.
sjdickma@indiana.edu
