Forget illegal narcotics like heroin, cocaine and crack—today’s hottest drugs are coming straight from our own family medicine cabinets.
New York, NY (1888PressRelease) April 09, 2008 - Forget illegal narcotics like heroin, cocaine and crack—today’s hottest drugs are coming straight from our own family medicine cabinets.
“Prescription drug abuse is becoming a major epidemic in the US,” says Stephen Della Valle, author of the new addiction and recovery memoir Rising Above the Influence. “Addicts no longer need to go to ‘the bad part of town’ to score. All they need is a doctor willing to write a prescription, and a pharmacy willing to fill it.”
And unfortunately, it’s even easier than that for a lot of people. Many addicts—including kids, who are especially susceptible to this form of addiction—steal pills from family members or friends who don’t think twice about leaving their medications where they can be easily accessed.
“We leave pill bottles sitting out in our bathrooms or kitchens, or carry them around in our pocketbooks, but we don’t realize how dangerous that habit is,” notes Mr. Della Valle, who fought his own addiction to sleeping pills for many years.
Statistics show that in the past year, 2.2 million people over the age of twelve used prescription pain relievers for nonmedical purposes.
The three most commonly abused types of prescription drugs include:
-Opoids including OxyContin, Percocet and morphine—most often prescribed to treat pain
-Central nervous system depressants such as Valium and Xanax—prescribed to treat anxiety and sleep disorders
-Stimulants including Dexedrine, Adderall, Ritalin and Concerta—prescribed for narcolepsy, ADHD and obesity
“Many people think that these drugs are okay because they’re medication, given by a doctor. But the truth is, they’re still drugs. You can still abuse them, and they can still kill you.”
Some of the most common and most serious symptoms of prescription drug overdose include cessation of breathing, seizures, decreased or irregular heart rate, and cardiovascular system failure.
Stephen Della Valle is president of the board of directors at Turning Point rehabilitation center in Verona, New Jersey. Currently celebrating twenty years of sobriety, he lives in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife, Donna. He has three children.
Rising Above the Influence is available now (ISBN: 0-9801776-0-X; softcover; Oak Ridge Press) on Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and at fine bookstores everywhere.
Forget illegal narcotics like heroin, cocaine and crack—today’s hottest drugs are coming straight from our own family medicine cabinets. 
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