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Romanian PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
LO QUE DEBE SABER
Complete Educational Resource
Download the complete Narconon prescription drugs education brochure for comprehensive information.
Descargar el folleto completo en PDFComplete educational material from Narconon Europe
What is Addiction?
WHEN A PERSON IS ADDICTED, he doesn't control his drug use; his drug use controls him. When an addict loses the ability to make a rational choice about whether or not to use drugs or alcohol, he or she is addicted.
La adicción es una afección por la que una persona experimenta un impulso irresistible de buscar y consumir drogas o alcohol a pesar de las consecuencias físicas y mentales negativas.
La adicción suele ir acompañada de dependencia física y psicológica de la droga y la persona sufre síntomas de abstinencia cuando la droga disminuye rápidamente o se deja de consumir.
Narconon no cree que la adicción sea una enfermedad, que sea incurable o que una persona deba "vivir con ella" el resto de su vida. Según la experiencia del personal y los graduados de Narconon, es posible recuperarse completamente de la adicción y disfrutar de una vida productiva y libre de drogas.
Para entender la adicción, primero hay que entender las drogas: qué son, los signos y síntomas de su consumo, así como los efectos a corto y largo plazo del consumo de drogas.
Los adictos suelen negar su adicción.
Prescription Painkiller Abuse
THE ABUSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS CONTINUES TO GROW. Among teens, prescription drugs are the most commonly used drugs, next to marijuana, and almost half of the teens abusing prescription drugs are taking painkillers.
Why are so many young people turning to prescription drugs to get high? By survey, almost 50 percent of teens believe that taking prescription drugs is safer than using illegal street drugs.
of teens believe prescription drugs are safer than illegal street drugs
What is not known by most of these young people is the risk they are taking by consuming these highly potent and mind-altering drugs. Long-term use of painkillers can lead to dependence, even for people who are prescribed them to relieve a medical condition but eventually fall into the trap of abuse and addiction.
In some cases, the dangers of painkillers don't surface until it is too late. For example, abuse of the painkiller Fentanyl killed more than one thousand people. The drug was found to be thirty to fifty times more powerful than heroin.
What Are Painkillers?
PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS ARE POWERFUL DRUGS that interfere with the nervous system's transmission of the nerve signals somebody uses to perceive pain. Most painkillers also stimulate portions of the brain associated with pleasure. Thus, in addition to blocking pain, they produce a high.
The most powerful prescription painkillers are called opioids. These are a natural, synthetic or semisynthetic derivative of opium. They are manufactured to react on the nervous system in the same way as drugs derived from opium, such as heroin.
Most Commonly Abused Opioid Painkillers:
- Oxycodone
- Hydrocodone
- Meperidine
- Hydromorphone
- Propoxyphene
Oxycodone
Oxycodone has the greatest potential for abuse and the greatest dangers. It is as powerful as heroin and affects the nervous system the same way. Oxycodone is sold under many trade names, such as Percodan, Endodan, Roxiprin, Percocet, Endocet, Roxicet and OxyContin. It comes in tablet form.
OxyContin is an extended-release oxycodone. For that reason, if an addict crushes or chews OxyContin, it releases a potentially fatal overdose.
Hydrocodone
Hydrocodone is used in combination with other chemicals and is available in prescription pain medications as tablets, capsules and syrups. Trade names include Anexsia, Dicodid, Hycodan, Hycomine, Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Tussionex and Vicodin.
Production and sale of this drug have increased significantly in recent years, as has its unlawful use.
Other Powerful Opioids
Meperidine (brand name Demerol) and hydromorphone (Dilaudid) come in tablets and have been known to be crushed and injected, snorted or smoked.
Dilaudid Potency
more potent than morphine
Dilaudid, considered eight times more potent than morphine, is often called drugstore heroin on the streets.
Street Names for Painkillers
| Generic Name | Brand Name | Street Name |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone | OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet, Roxiprin, Roxicet, Endodan, Endocet | Oxy 80s, Oxycotton, Oxycet, Hillbilly Heroin, Percs, Perks |
| Hydrocodone | Anexsia, Dicodid, Hycodan, Hycomine, Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Tussionex, Vicodin | Vikes, Hydros |
| Hydromorphone | Dilaudid | Juice, Dillies, Drugstore Heroin |
| Meperidine | Demerol | Demmies |
Real Stories, Real Consequences
James
"At the age of twenty, I became an addict to a narcotic which began with a prescription following a surgery. In the weeks that followed [the operation], in addition to orally abusing the tablet, crushing it up enabled me to destroy the controlled-release mechanism and to swallow or snort the drug. It can also be injected to produce a feeling identical to shooting heroin. The physical withdrawal from the drug is nothing short of agonizing pain."—James
Alex
I was left alone to conquer my addiction
"I didn't think I had a 'drug' problem— I was buying the tablets at the chemist [drugstore]. It didn't affect my work. I would feel a bit tired in the mornings, but nothing more. The fact that I had a problem came to a head when I took an overdose of about forty tablets and found myself in the hospital. I spent twelve weeks in the clinic conquering my addiction."—Alex
Thomas
Painkillers made my unwanted feelings worse
"Pretty much as long as I can remember, I've had highs and lows. I would get easily upset by the littlest things, I would have anger outbursts or hate someone for no reason at all. For a long while I thought I was bipolar. I started using drugs last October to help me with my unwanted feelings. But believe it or not, it just made stuff worse—I had to now deal with my addiction and my emotional problems."—Thomas
Why Painkillers Become So Addictive
OPIOID PAINKILLERS PRODUCE A SHORT-LIVED EUPHORIA, but they are also addictive.
Long-term use of painkillers can lead to physical dependence. The body adapts to the presence of the substance and if an individual stops taking the drug abruptly, withdrawal symptoms occur. Or the body could build up a tolerance to the drug, meaning that higher doses have to be taken to achieve the same effects.
Withdrawal Symptoms Include:
- Inquietud
- Muscle and bone pain
- Insomnia
- Diarrea
- Vomiting
- Cold flashes with goose bumps
- Involuntary leg movements
One of the serious risks of opioids is respiratory depression—high doses can cause breathing to slow down to the point it stops and the user dies.
Like all drugs, painkillers simply mask the pain for which they are taken. They don't cure anything. Someone continuously trying to dull the pain may find himself taking higher and higher doses—only to discover that he cannot make it through the day without the drug.
Radio On Air Statement - Rush Limbaugh
"I am addicted to prescription pain medication. I first started taking prescription painkillers [some] years ago when my doctor prescribed them to treat postsurgical pain following spinal surgery. Over the past several years I have tried to break my dependence on pain pills and, in fact, twice checked myself in to medical facilities in an attempt to do so. [I have] recently agreed with my physician about the next steps."—Excerpted from radio commentator Rush Limbaugh's on-air statement, Friday, Oct. 10, 2003
OxyContin: The "Hillbilly Heroin"
Because it reacts on the nervous system like heroin or opium, some abusers are using one brand of oxycodone painkiller, OxyContin, as a substitute for, or supplement to, street opiates like heroin.
Criminal Impact
Armed robberies of pharmacies have occurred where the robber demanded only OxyContin, not cash. In some areas, particularly the Eastern United States, OxyContin has been the drug of greatest concern to law-enforcement authorities.
of crime in one county was estimated to be behind addiction to OxyContin
OxyContin, widely known as hillbilly heroin because of its abuse in Appalachian communities, has emerged as a major crime problem in the US. In one county it was estimated that addiction to this drug was behind 80 percent of the crime there.
Vicodin: America's Most Popular Opiate Painkiller
VICODIN IS A STRONG OPIATE PAINKILLER, the most popular one in America.
teens in high school have tried Vicodin
Vicodin has a high potential for abuse and is highly addictive. Despite the danger of addiction, one in five teens in high school have tried Vicodin. Some of those teens will become addicted. Vicodin is not as heavily regulated as some other prescription drugs, so that may contribute to its extensive distribution.
There is a range of effects from Vicodin. Some of these effects include the short-term symptoms of use, longer-range effects like addiction, withdrawal sickness and the mental and moral decline that accompanies addiction in the overwhelming majority of cases.
Vicodin Effects
Short-Term Effects
When people take Vicodin, they are likely to experience the following effects:
- Drowsiness
- Cloudy thinking
- Lethargy
- Impaired mental sharpness
- Anxiety
- Fear
- Cambios de humor
- Psychological and physical dependence
- Euphoria followed by a generalized unhappy mood
- Constipation
- Inability to urinate
- Respiratory suppression
- Slow heart rate
A person who takes too much of the drug or combines it with other drugs can suffer from convulsions and seizures and slip into a coma.
Long-Term Effects
When a person continues to take or abuse this drug, a whole new set of effects comes into play. The most major of these effects is addiction. Addiction routinely sets many other changes into motion.
For example, an honest and loving person who becomes addicted may turn into someone the family doesn't know anymore. He may be untrustworthy for the first time in his life. He may neglect the family, the job and friends.
He may commit crimes by seeing multiple doctors to get enough of the drug or he may buy the drug from drug dealers, or even steal it from friends or a pharmacy. In so many heartbreaking cases, the person's life becomes all about getting enough of the drug to keep withdrawal symptoms away.
Once a person goes through withdrawal, he may have a horror of ever going through it again. It can be an intensely uncomfortable experience, with muscle and bone pain, anxiety, aches, cramps, restlessness, chills, vomiting, diarrhea and nausea.
Mental & Physiological Effects of Painkillers
Some Get Addicted by Accident
IN THE CASE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, many people get started on their way to addiction by accident. They may suffer some kind of pain or injury and have the drug prescribed by a doctor. As they build a tolerance to the drug, they need more and more to keep the pain away. They may exceed the amount the doctor is willing to prescribe and then start getting the drug illegally.
Others start abusing painkillers from the beginning and not by accident—snorting, injecting or ingesting more than would normally be recommended.
Once people are addicted, there is not much difference in how they got started abusing the drug. The addiction eventually becomes more important than just about anything else in life. Care of themselves, their business or their family takes a back seat to acquiring the drug.
Criminal Behavior
Many people who run out of money to buy opiates will turn to criminal actions to get their drugs. Pharmacy theft is one of these crimes. Around the country, Vicodin is a very common drug in pharmacy thefts. Pharmacy thefts are so frequent in some areas that some drugstore chains restrict the distribution of these drugs to only a few locations.
In other cases, items of value may go missing from their home or business or the homes of family members. It may be very hard for a family to understand that someone they have known and loved for thirty years has suddenly changed so much—but that is the nature of addiction.
10 Warning Signs of Dependency
Most commonly prescribed painkillers (OxyContin, Vicodin, Methadone, Darvocet, Lortab, Lorcet and Percocet), while offering relief from pain, can also cause individuals' bodies to start needing the drugs in order to just feel normal.
These are ten warning signs to watch for if you think someone you know may be experiencing a dependency on these drugs:
1. Usage increase
Increase of a dose over time as a result of growing tolerant to the drug and needing more to get the same effect.
2. Change in personality
Shifts in energy, mood, and concentration as a result of everyday responsibilities becoming secondary to the need for the drug.
3. Social withdrawal
Withdrawal from family and friends.
4. Ongoing use
Continued use of painkillers after the medical condition they were meant to relieve has improved.
5. Time spent obtaining prescriptions
Spending large amounts of time driving great distances and visiting multiple doctors to obtain the drugs.
6. Change in daily habits and appearance
Decline in personal hygiene; change in sleeping and eating habits; constant cough, runny nose and red, glazed eyes.
7. Neglect of responsibilities
Neglect of household chores and bills; calling in sick to school or work more often.
8. Increased sensitivity
Normal sights, sounds and emotions becoming overly stimulating to the person; hallucinations.
9. Blackouts and forgetfulness
Forgetting events that have taken place and experiencing blackouts.
10. Defensiveness
Becoming defensive and lashing out in response to simple questions in an attempt to hide a drug dependency, if the person feels his secret is being discovered.
Painkillers: A Short History
OPIATES, ORIGINALLY DERIVED FROM THE OPIUM PLANT, HAVE BEEN USED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS for both recreational and medicinal purposes. The most active substance in opium is morphine—named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Morphine is a very powerful painkiller, but it is also very addictive.
16th Century
Laudanum (opium prepared in an alcoholic solution) was used as a painkiller.
1830
Codeine, a less powerful drug that is found in opium, but can be synthesized (man-made), was first isolated in France by Jean-Pierre Robiquet to replace raw opium for medical purposes. It is used mainly as a cough remedy.
Early 19th Century
Morphine was first extracted from opium in a pure form. It was used widely as a painkiller during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and many soldiers became addicted.
1839 - First Opium War
The British sent warships to the coast of China in response to China's attempt to suppress the opium traffic, beginning the "First Opium War."
1874
Chemists trying to find a less addictive form of morphine made heroin. But heroin had twice the potency of morphine so heroin addiction soon became a serious problem.
1905-1920s
The US Congress banned opium in 1905 and the next year passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, requiring contents labeling on all medicines. Heroin became illegal in the 1920s.
1937
Methadone was first synthesized by German scientists Max Bockmühl and Gustav Ehrhart at the IG Farben Company. They were searching for a painkiller that would be easier to use during surgery, with less addiction potential than morphine or heroin. Yet methadone is believed by many to be even more addictive than heroin.
1995
Southeast Asia was producing two thousand five hundred tons of illegal opium annually.
Modern Era
New painkillers came on the market with approval from the Food and Drug Administration: Vicodin in 1984, OxyContin in 1995 and Percocet in 1999. These are all synthetic (man-made) opiates.
What Are Drugs?
LAS DROGAS SON ESENCIALMENTE VENENOS. La cantidad ingerida determina el efecto.
Pequeña cantidad
Acts as a stimulant (speeds you up)
Mayor importe
Acts as a sedative (slows you down)
Cantidad aún mayor
Poisons and can kill
Esto ocurre con cualquier droga. Sólo difiere la cantidad necesaria para conseguir el efecto.
Pero muchas drogas tienen otro inconveniente: afectan directamente a la mente. Pueden distorsionar la percepción del consumidor de lo que ocurre a su alrededor. Como resultado, las acciones de la persona pueden ser extrañas, irracionales, inapropiadas e incluso destructivas.
Las drogas también bloquean todas las sensaciones, las deseables y las no deseadas. Así que, aunque proporcionan un alivio a corto plazo del dolor, también anulan la capacidad y el estado de alerta y enturbian el pensamiento de una persona.
Los medicamentos son fármacos destinados a mejorar el funcionamiento del organismo, ya sea acelerando, ralentizando o modificando su funcionamiento. A veces son necesarios. Pero los medicamentos no dejan de ser drogas: actúan como estimulantes o sedantes y en exceso pueden matarte. Si se abusa de ellos, pueden ser tan peligrosos como las drogas ilegales.
Acerca de Narconon
NARCONON (QUE SIGNIFICA "SIN NARCÓTICOS") está abierto a todos los que deseen poner fin a sus adicciones y llevar una vida productiva y sin drogas.
El programa Narconon no sólo aborda los efectos debilitantes del abuso de drogas en la mente y el cuerpo, sino que también ayuda a resolver por qué una persona recurrió a las drogas en primer lugar. Como resultado, decenas de miles de personas se han graduado en el Programa Narconon para llevar una nueva vida libre del consumo de drogas.
Más allá de la rehabilitación de drogas, el personal de prevención de drogas de Narconon ha educado a millones de escolares. Narconon tiene más de cincuenta años de experiencia en educación sobre drogas con una eficacia demostrada para mantener a los jóvenes alejados de las drogas.
Glosario de términos
American Civil War
A war in the United States (1861–1865) between eleven Southern states and the states and territories of the North. The war ended with the South's surrender on April 9, 1865.
Bipolar
A term used to describe a manic–depressive condition in which someone alternates between extremes of excitement and depression.
Codeine
A white crystalline drug derived from opium, but milder in action, used as a painkiller.
Coma
A state of unnatural, heavy, deep and prolonged sleep or unconsciousness.
Convulsión
Sacudidas violentas e incontrolables del cuerpo o de una parte del cuerpo.
Debilitante
Debilitar física o mentalmente a alguien.
Derivative
A substance obtained from another substance.
Euforia
Una sensación de gran felicidad y bienestar.
Eufórico
Se caracteriza por la euforia (sensación de gran felicidad y bienestar).
Heroína
Una droga potente y adictiva que provoca una sensación temporal de euforia y una menor sensación de dolor, pero que luego provoca una respiración lenta, depresión y, en caso de sobredosis, la muerte.
Lethargy
Lack of energy, activity or enthusiasm.
Methadone
A powerful, addictive synthetic drug used as a substitute drug in the treatment of addiction to heroin.
Morphine
A powerful addictive drug used in medicine to relieve severe pain.
Opiate
A drug that is used to bring about sleep and for relieving pain that contains opium or an opium derivative.
Opium
An addictive drug that reduces pain and causes drowsiness. It slows breathing, which can result in unconsciousness and even death.
Analgésico
A drug that relieves pain. Mild painkillers like aspirin do not require a prescription, but stronger painkillers like morphine are only prescribed by doctors.
Psicológico
De la mente, mental.
Sedante
Fármaco utilizado para provocar somnolencia y aliviar temporalmente el dolor y el nerviosismo o la agitación.
Estimulante
Cualquier sustancia que aumenta temporalmente la actividad de algún proceso vital o de algún órgano.
Síntomas de abstinencia
Reacciones físicas y mentales desagradables que experimenta una persona con adicción cuando deja de consumir drogas.
Complete Educational Resource
Download the complete Narconon prescription drugs education brochure for comprehensive information.
Descargar el folleto completo en PDFComplete educational material from Narconon Europe
Discover more educational articles about prescription drugs
Qué ocurre cuando se mezclan medicamentos con receta
Cómo los medicamentos recetados pueden llevar a la adicción
Los peligros ocultos de los medicamentos con receta
✅ Section FAQ – Prescription Drug Education
Are prescription drugs safer than street drugs?
Not necessarily. When misused, prescription drugs can be just as dangerous as illegal drugs—leading to addiction, overdose, and long-term health damage.
Why do people get addicted to medications prescribed by doctors?
Many prescription drugs affect the brain’s reward system, especially painkillers, sedatives, and stimulants. When taken too often or without supervision, they can cause dependency.
Can someone stop using prescription drugs without switching to another medication?
Yes. Drug-free rehabilitation programs like Narconon help individuals fully recover without needing substitute drugs or long-term medication.
What types of prescription drugs are most commonly misused?
Opioid painkillers, anti-anxiety medications (like benzodiazepines), and ADHD stimulants are among the most frequently abused prescriptions.