Substance Abuse in the United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, recently in the U.S., the use of prescription drugs for non-medical purpose are becoming a problem; the most common prescription drugs being abused are opioids, commonly prescribed for pain relief, including morphine, codeine, oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin) and meperidine (Demerol). The author points out that while the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States is marijuana; cocaine and crack are still rather predominant in American society, although there is an emerging drug called methamphetamine. The paper states that, although society is constantly told that "The War on Drugs" is working, statistics disprove this scenario.

From the Paper:

"Substance abuse is defined as excessive use of a drug and/or use of a drug without medical justification; for this reason substance abuse is illegal in the United States (Webster's Dictionary). It is not legal to over use any drug whether it is prescribed to you or not. The over use of drugs in the human body is highly detrimental to a persons mental and physical health. Over drug use can also impair ones judgment skills and can make them act as though they would not in a normal state. Because the American society strives to keep all of its citizens safe and healthy it is important for all social and prescribed drugs to be used within their restrictions."

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