Name: Carly
Post number: 1
Topic: Health
Title: Will the Government's Drug 'Take-Back' Do Anything to Reduce Misuse?
Writer Maia Szalavitz
Publication Name: Times
Date of Publication: September 24, 2010.
Length: 850 words
http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/24/will-the-governments-drug-take-back-do-anything-to-reduce-misuse/
The DEA, or Drug Enforcement Agency, is started a new program to prevent drug misuse. They will take back any prescription medication, and dispose of it properly. This program began to prevent people from continuing to use the drug after it is necessary, leading to addiction. However, this program has earned a lot of critics. Studies show that it is not these people who are at risk for prescription drug addiction, but people around them. For example, 78% of people addicted to Oxytocin, a painkiller, were never actually prescribed it. And by creating this hype around drugs, people will be more likely to hoard them. Then the drugs are more likely to be stolen or used by family members.
In conclusion, this is a complicated issue. Solutions that look good on paper may not be applicable to real life. On one hand, it makes sense for people to be able to properly dispose of their excess medications. On the other hand, people tend to get very protective about this sort of thing. Being encouraged to give something up may in fact make them want to hold onto it more.
I agree that there is not one true side to this argument but i think that making a huge deal about taking back drugs that weren't used is a bad idea. People should just be responsible and not let people take their drugs after they are done with their prescription. If they are worried about people using it then they should dispose of it themselves.
ReplyDeletePeople get sick all the time. They go to the drug store to relieve their pain, and the drug company get money. Even if the customer get addicted, its none of the company's business. They just sell drugs, they do not tell not to. The company does not sell drugs to people to make people addicted to their products. The companies are just trying get money from the sick people. If someone buys it, it belongs to them. Before government think of new plans, people need to learn “responsibilities”.
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