THE CONSORT ENTERPRISE PAGE 15AUGUST 24, 2011

By: Kelsey Simpson From sprained ankles tomigraines we all hold the an-tidote to our pain in ourpurses, vehicles and medi-cine cabinets. Over thecounter pills such as Tylenolor Advil are all easily acces-sible medications that aresold in grocery stores andeven gas stations and arebeing abused. Being selfmedicated seems easierthan spending hours waitingfor the doctor - just for him towrite out another prescription.Found everywhere - in urbanhomes, in rural homes overthe counter and prescriptiondrugs are in bathrooms, cup-boards, and drawers. Next toalcohol, these drugs are onthe rise to easily becoming anumber one health concernand abused substance inCanada. Easy access, rela-tively low cost and the attrac-tion of being completely andtotally legal are all large fac-tors when attracting our soci-ety to these often abused sub-stances. But studies are indeedfinding that it is not only theyounger generations that arethe general stereotype fordrug addiction. This abusehas a much larger demo-graphic and can affect almostanyone and everyone. Cana-dian statistics show that fivetimes as many Canadians areaddicted to legal or pre-scribed drugs than heroine orcocaine. Unlike street drugs,there are no stereotypes, nodrug parts of towns, no drughouses, no creepy dealer,

Prescription for Addiction

Take two they're small....

A pill a day keeps the doctor away

Many people are unsure just what is lurking in theirown medicine cabinets

because legal drugs can befound everywhere. "Generation Rx" is whatthe newer generation of pre-teens and young adults havecome to be known, strictly fortheir choice of drugs. Withcolleges and universities be-coming more competitivethan ever, many students arefinding it hard to keep up.Some have even turned topowerful stimulants likeAdderall or Ritalin which havebeen deemed the latestmiracle drugs for college stu-dents. Students claim cram-ming is no longer an issueand as many as 20% of col-lege students have admittedto using Ritalin or Adderall tostudy, write papers and takeexams. However, health risksinclude seizures, cardio vas-cular complications and pro-longed high doses yield in-somnia, mental depressionand eventually lead to psycho-sis, hallucinations and behav-ior. Even more frightening isthat these drugs have spreadfrom university and collegeclassrooms and can now befound on the playground aswell. Over 34% of children di-agnosed with ADHD claimthey have been approachedby others to either sell ortrade their prescriptions ofAdderall or Ritalin. One surprising new fact isthat this younger generation isonly a small portion affectedby this problem. Every age,every demographic, everyprofession is touched byabuse and addiction. Thistruly shows just how danger-

ous it really is - abuse canhappen to anyone, anywhere,anytime. Law enforcement of-ficers, lawyers, nurses, re-tired people are all caught upin this new trend. This addic-tion is subtle and 100% legal.To most there is no harm if itis legal, and that is whatdraws people in. It tends tofocus on people with highstress, legitimate jobs, andmost don't even know what ishappening to their body orthemselves. "This is not how I want tohandle my life," admits localresident Nicole (not her realname) who has been battlingchronic pain and medicationfor the past ten years. Sheendured the struggle with pre-scription pills and has foughttheir addictive nature andmalicious side effects. Facedwith severe arthritis andfibromyalgia, Nicole has beenthrough hospitals, clinics, ap-pointments, pharmacies, mis-diagnoses, etc., for the pastdecade. Finding no cure forher chronic pain, medicationtook complete control overher life. After trying to cope with thepain through alcohol, andending up in the Red DeerHospital because of a break-down, Nicole knew she wouldhave to find another way toease her agony. With an ex-treme dislike of pills, becauseof the way her body reacts tothem, Nicole was very reluc-tant when the doctor told hermedication was her only wayto ease the pain. With heraddictive personality and lack

of knowledge about the medi-cation, she was soon pop-ping pills regularly - whicheventually became a dailyroutine. Because of majorside-effects, Nicole was pre-scribed more pills to controlthem. Antidepressant pills,sleeping pills and anxiety pillswere all prescribed to Nicolejust so she could get throughthe day. She began uppingher doses as she felt no re-lief. After realizing how accus-tomed she became to thehabit, she realized it was timeto stop. She quit right thereand accepted her pain. After months of no pills,and severe withdrawal, shehad to return to her pill bottlesas the pain was too much. Itwas at this time that she madethe realization that shecouldn't live without them; itwas impossible to quit. "This is my normal." con-fesses Nicole. The battle be-tween the pills and the side ef-fects of the pills is a strugglefor her as one doesn't out-weigh the other. To control herpain, she must take a varietyof pills daily and sometimesmore than the recommendeddose. The medication doesease the pain somewhat, butin it's place, side-effects oc-cur that are almost worse thanthe pain. Swelling, numbness,anxiety, depression, rashes,are all part of the aftermath ofthe pills and in turn are treatedwith more pills. The fear of addiction andcontrolling addiction for thiswoman is high and she is sureshe has already endured a lot.Nicole has a serious necksurgery looming in her future,which may hold the key to cur-ing her pain, but Nicole alsoknows she will be on ex-tremely potent medication forthe post op. With her addic-tive personality, Nicole fearsher normal is the drugs, andshe can never go back. On the plus side, one ad-diction she has controlled isthe alcohol, the end of Junesymbolized a year without adrink, her hope, is that shecan find a solution to her painso that she can celebrate alife free from alcohol andmedication, thus ending herstory of addiction forever. Nicole's story is a true tes-tament to how drugs can con-trol your life. Nicole neverwanted to get addicted to thevery medicine that was sup-posed to heal her. She is farfrom a drug addict looking fora fix, she is just a person whowas forced to incorporate pillsinto her daily routine and theaddictive side of the pills cer-tainly took advantage of it. Nicole isn't the only one.There are lots of people whoare regularly taking pills be-hind closed doors, or maybe

even open ones. Prescriptionpills aren't frowned upon bysociety, we accept it, we em-brace it, we are becomingaddicted to it. A quick trip to the hospitalcan also yield a quick fix fordesperate drug addicts - a pillor prescription. Drug addic-tion used to be a problem lo-cated in the big cities. Thiswave of prescription addic-tion is just as popular as ever,but you don't need a drugdealer, a city, or a grunge partof town any more. All youneed is stress or anxiety, de-pression or pain and it can allgo away... with a little (legal)pill. Due to the safe aura thatsurrounds the use of legal pillsand prescription medication,most people are too naive tobelieve there is any danger,and this goes for highly edu-cated doctors as well. Manyrural communities have cometo question the growing trend

of pushing pills for any ail-ment. In Nicole's experienceshe feels that doctors aren'tlooking out for peoples' healthlike they used to. "There is athin line between a drugdealer and a doctor, the onlydifference is it's completely le-gal for doctors to hand outaddiction," says Nicole. It is never a doctor's inten-tion to get people hooked onpotentially dangerous drugs,but some responsibility mustland in their lap - they are theexperts. If a doctor prescribesit, it must be safe, isn't it? In this day and age youdon't need a dark alley, an ille-gal substance, or a drugdealer to wreck your life. Allyou need is an injury, a pre-scription or a pill, and you toocan feel that overwhelmingrush that leads to addictionand ends with desperation, itis only as far away as yourmedicine cabinet...

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