Prescription Abuse Effects

Use of prescription medications outside of medical applications is continuing to grow at an alarming rate. According to a 2007 study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, high school students are becoming increasingly more adept at prescription-drug abuse with 15 percent of high school seniors abusing prescription medications. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most commonly abused prescriptions are sedatives and stimulants such as OxyContin and Vicodin.

Habit Formation

• Before understanding the overall effects of prescription-drug abuse, knowing the buying habits of someone abusing prescription medications is important. An addict often will seek prescription medications from more than one doctor. Addicts also may purposely lose prescriptions, so new ones must be written. An addict may start stealing prescription pills from others or may start buying prescription medications through dealers rather than through pharmacies. Prescription abusers also commonly take higher doses than recommended due to a developing tolerance to the effects of the drug.

Opioid Effects

• Opioid-containing prescriptions are among the most commonly abused medications. The most commonly abused opioid prescription medications are OxyContin and Vicodin. Prescription-abuse effects of opioids include depression, decreased breathing rate, a lowered blood pressure and constipation. Opioid prescriptions work similarly to other opioid-containing drugs such as heroin. As heroin, prescriptions such as Vicodin act as central-nervous-system depressants. In high enough doses, this can quickly cause overdose and death. Since prescription abusers develop tolerance over time, it can be only a matter of time before levels are high enough to become toxic and deadly.

Sedative Effects

• Sedatives, especially those classified within the benzodiazepines, are another common prescription of choice for abuse. The two most common of these are Valium and Ativan. Prescription-abuse effects of sedatives include drowsiness, lack of body control when walking, confusion, judgment impairment and slow speech. You may also see involuntary, rapid movement of the eyes. In high enough doses, sedatives such as Valium can put the body into a coma. They can also depress the nervous system enough to cause death.

Stimulant Effects

• Stimulant prescriptions are also commonly abused medications. These mostly include drugs that are used to treat ADD and ADHD such as Ritalin, dextroamphetamine and Concerta. When not taken as prescribed, these medications can quickly cause dependence. Abuse effects of these stimulants commonly include irritability, insomnia, inability to stay still, increase in heart rate, increase in blood pressure, blood-vessel constriction and an increase in blood-sugar levels. In high enough doses, stimulants can become deadly by increasing body temperatures beyond healthy levels, causing irregular heartbeats and even causing the onset of a seizure from the increasingly rapid firing of nerve cells.

Social Consequences

• Regardless of what prescription drug is being abused, a series of social consequences also accompany the abuse. Legal effects are one consequence that can follow prescription drug abuse. The use of prescription medications in any other way than for what they have been prescribed is illegal. Obtaining prescriptions through fraud or buying and selling prescription medications outside of a pharmacy and without a prescription is also illegal. If caught, fines and jail time can be ordered. Prescription-drug abuse, like any other addiction, can also affect family, friends and work relationships by allowing the drug to become more important than taking care of a family or fulfilling your work schedules and duties.