A Basic Introduction to a Complicated Addiction

What is a prescription drug? A prescription drug is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a prescription before it can be obtained. In the United States, the other terms for “prescription drugs” are legend drugs, or Rx-only drugs, after the requirements of Federal and State laws that all drugs should bear a “legend” prohibiting sale without a prescription. In the United Kingdom however, they are only referred to as Prescription Only Medicine or POM.

Prescription drugs can fall into many categories like opiods, narcotics, depressants, stimulants, pain relievers. The following is a list of the popular prescription drugs:

• Drug Type - Opioids/narcotics/ pain relievers -
• Common Brand Names - Dilaudid, Lorcet, Lortab, OxyContin, Percocet, Percodan, Tylox, Vicodin
• Drug type - Depressants (benzodiazepines, tranquilizers, barbiturates, sedatives)
• Common Brand Names - Librium, Valium, Xanax
• Drug Type - Stimulants, pain relievers

• Common Brand Names - Adderall, Concerta,Ritalin

The main reason that individuals abuse them is because they are accessible very easily as they are available in any chemist. Also, they are an inexpensive way of altering the users mental and physical state; their effects varying according to the drug and dosage. The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription. Different jurisdictions have different definitions of what constitutes a prescription drug. As a general rule, over the counter drugs are used to treat conditions not necessarily requiring a doctor's care and will have been proven to meet higher safety standards for self-medication by patients. Often a lower dosage of a drug will be approved for OTC use, while higher dosages will remain the province of a doctor's prescription; a notable case is ibuprofen, which has been widely available as an OTC pain killer since the mid-1980s but is still available in doses up to four times the OTC dose for use in cases of severe orthopedic pain.

Dispensation of prescription drugs often includes a package insert (in Europe, a Patient Information Leaflet or PIL) that gives detailed information about the drug. Unfortunately, these leaflets are rarely read by the customers.