Pharm D as a Buffer Against Pharm Parties
The newly coined term “pharm parties” has been the topic of conversation for many news outlets in the past decade, as the prescription drug phase has reached American teens, eager to find a release in a drug they consider to be legal. The Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm D) has helped to fight against this new war on drugs by enlisting greater barriers in obtaining prescriptions which are commonly used in these parties, such as Vicodin or Hydrocodeine. However, with the prevalence of overdoses and online pharmacies steadily rising, the question has risen as to what kind of knowledge can combat this substance abuse.
Pharm parties are typically drug “get togethers” in which teens dump a load of their parents’ prescriptions into a bowl and then dig in, gulping down pills. While this is still a skeptical setting, many news reports on the subject in general have indicated that teenagers have continuously stole prescription drugs from their parents and either swapped them with classmates or kept them for their own use. Regardless of the way they receive the pills, the danger is obvious. Many of these drugs have terrible side effects, including an addictive quality which manages to hook many young adults due to their inexperience in prescription medication.
As a Pharm D, your job consists far outside the ordinary realm of pharmacy, and into the world of overdoses and lethal addictions. While there is little you can do about the easy accessibility many teens have to prescription drugs, you can work to get legislation past and tougher restrictions on the use of these medications. Many states have lax prescription drug laws, and as a result, young teens flock to these states in order to stock up on their prescriptions. Instead of helping cure an illness, we are feeding into a new illness that will only degenerate a future. Doctors of Pharmacy are much more hands on than typical pharmacists and even work in clinics that cater exclusively to their pharmacy patients, rather than forcing the patient to go both to a doctor and then to a pharmacy. In this way, the Pharm D has direct communication with the receiver of the medication and can warn them of the risks and the dangers should their children get ahold of their medication.
Prescription drugs are a growing problem across our nation and while there is little that pharmacists can do on their own, many public policy changes are currently being implemented to save the youth who accidentally end up addicted at such a young age.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 12:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
