
Ideally, prescription drugs are safe if they are used as per the doctor’s directives. But some people grow psychologically accustomed to them, believing that if they do not take these, they would have to endure physical discomfort. Still others tend to use these recreationally or in combination with other prescription drugs and/or alcohol. This is known as prescription drug abuse and it significantly increases the chances of a person becoming addicted to the drug.
Taking an excess of prescription drugs, like sleeping pills, stimulants, painkillers, tranquilizers, and/or benzodiazepines, creates a high. Prescription drug abuse is the act of consuming prescription drugs even when they are no longer needed and in quantities not medically prescribed to achieve a euphoric feeling. In the case of severe addiction, people grind the pills and snort or inject them directly into the bloodstream.
Prescription drug abuse is a dangerous practice. Medicines are to be consumed in a certain way so that their active ingredients are released slowly. However, when an individual consumes more than the prescribed limit, they force the medicines to release their active ingredients in one go or in excess, running the risk of overdosing.
Another class of drugs that is commonly abused are over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, primarily cough syrups. These contain dextromethorphan (DXM), a cough suppressant and acetaminophen (painkiller) which when taken in large amounts can lead to mind-altering effects and damage the liver. Cough suppressants are also known to slow down breathing, thereby, putting an individual’s life at risk.