Addiction to medication is an increasingly alarming problem among youth

Often influenced by celebrities, the abuse of medication has reached a level higher than the use of marijuana and all other drugs combined. In Britain, it is the cause of death for every fourth person aged 16 to 24.

written by Vanja Figenwald
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Just as it was not enough for bankers to give loans for things that people really need, it is also not enough for the pharmaceutical industry to produce medications that people truly need. The goal is to sell as much as possible, and as quickly as possible, so consumer excess has triggered a new age of addiction – to medications. On one side is the pharmaceutical industry, which continuously convinces people that they are sick and should be treated, and on the other is a system that drains the soul from a person for a handful of dollars more, so it is not surprising that the broad working masses are increasingly turning to legal drugs for easing their daily lives. The problem is growing, and in the meantime, it has acquired its grotesque side effect, the casual use of medications, which is particularly widespread among youth. 

According to experts, there are several common forms of medication addiction. The leading position is held by analgesics, or popular ‘painkillers’, intended to solve all problems in the short term. They are divided into narcotics and non-narcotics, with the former prescribed by doctors due to their strong effects, while the latter can be purchased by anyone. They act mildly or moderately on the central nervous system and are used against pain in muscles, joints, and bones, as well as headaches and toothaches. However, the matter is not so simple as the ‘patient’ prescribes doses for themselves and often increases them, which has a counter effect: pain, fatigue, and bad mood increase. It is probably unnecessary to talk about the harmful effects on the stomach, kidneys, and liver; with such popularization of use, it has become commonplace. Their strongest weapon is ‘innocuousness’, the impression that these are completely ordinary, harmless medications. How wrong this impression is is clearly shown by the fact that among the more severe addicts, withdrawal crises resemble those of heroin addicts. 

Culture of impatience
After the stress caused by excessive consumption of ‘painkillers’, keeping in mind that excessive use strengthens the body’s resistance to their effects, many are ready for the next phase – sedatives, tranquilizers. Their primary task is to alleviate psychological troubles such as tension or fear and they are one of the most popular groups of medications that are abused. Because who in today’s (non)time does not occasionally feel psychological pain? Following the culture of impatience, in which difficulties are characterized as a deformation in relation to the perfect world that should be strived for, many reach for some kind of sedative for every little setback. Prolonged use, of course, leads to addiction.  The increasing physical and psychological pain of addicts leads them to the third group, hypnotics, intended to induce sleep when one cannot fall asleep naturally. These medications, without medical supervision, quickly lead to addiction, as well as severe consequences, especially if combined with alcohol or other groups of medications. The final stage, the peak, a hypothetical addict who has gone through all four mentioned groups will achieve with antidepressants. As their name clearly indicates, antidepressants are used to alleviate and treat depression, a true epidemic among Westerners. Although these are very serious medications that should not be prescribed lightly, the average Western gloomy person probably finds it easiest to access these substances because doctors love them. They are a quick, efficient, and easy way to solve deeper problems, and everyone profits well. Except the patient. The pharmaceutical industry and the psychiatrist industry (let’s be realistic, psychiatry has long been an industry in America, but also elsewhere) go hand in hand in this case.

Inexperience and suggestibility
Teenagers are particularly vulnerable due to their inexperience, exposure, and suggestibility. Research has shown that they increasingly use the aforementioned medications, often under the influence of celebrities who portray them as an indispensable fashion accessory. Abuse has already reached a level higher than the use of marijuana and all other drugs combined. Ironically, the discussion about the medicinal properties of marijuana has recently been leaning more towards the favor of legal use. In Britain, a country with a particularly problematic youth, some of the mentioned medications are the cause of every fourth death among people aged 16 to 24. 

 How far the situation has spiraled out of control and how serious it is is best illustrated by the following example from America. In the state of Oklahoma, the police unit responsible for combating substance abuse is fighting its biggest battle against – medications. Not cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, or heroin, but legal medications. The most drug-related deaths are the result of the abuse of these substances. Of course, the practice is most widespread among youth, who have invented a new ‘trick’, grabbing from a bowl of various medications and stuffing them into their mouths. No one yet considers this an official cause of someone’s death, although it could be listed for a multitude of cases.

The problem is availability
Medications are, in fact, drugs just like any other, and they affect the brain in the same way. When a person is addicted to them, they change the brain’s chemistry, making it less efficient in producing chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. Since the brain has stopped producing them, the body needs another source, such as medication. At that moment, physical dependence arises. Some effects include anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, loss of interest in relationships and connections with people, and withdrawal symptoms when stopping medication.  Although the whole world has supposedly become a big village, interestingly, the plague of swallowing pills is much more pronounced in developed countries than in developing ones. The causes are multiple, but all go hand in hand. The proliferation of medications in all forms, their availability, real and imagined causes, the need to satisfy an insatiable hunger for profit, first of the pharmaceutical industry and then of private doctors, the development of psychiatry as a separate industry, the declaration of natural life difficulties as anomalies to be avoided, the culture of superficiality, the culture of mediocrity that artificially creates uniqueness (you are very special if you take antidepressants), and a host of others together make modern society a collection of apathetic people accustomed to shifting responsibility and avoiding anything difficult in life in every possible way. And the industry awaits them with open arms and ready boxes.