Image Source: Casa Serena
Johannesburg – Addiction to prescription medication has become an increasingly significant issue in our society. This type of substance abuse disorder often goes unnoticed because it doesn’t fit the typical image of addiction.
Unlike illicit drugs, such pills and mixtures can be legally obtained over the counter or through a prescription, making their misuse less apparent in everyday situations.
However, this perceived normalcy is a dangerous illusion. The fact that healthcare professionals prescribe these drugs does not diminish their potential for harm. Therefore, the dangers lie in the subtle nature of this addiction, which makes it challenging to identify and treat.
Shahida Kazie, the Director of Nishtara Recovery and Wellness Centre, noted that prescription medication addiction can affect anyone, particularly vulnerable women who use these medications to manage anxiety, depression, or the overwhelming demands of daily life.
What starts as reliance on prescribed medication can swiftly escalate into dependency and substance abuse disorder, with far-reaching adverse effects on not just the individual but also their families and communities.
“Prescription medication, which is, by the way, the most difficult to treat, is prevalent among many housewives. Many people, if I can say, whether it’s due to depression, loneliness, neglect, or maybe sometimes just being overwhelmed by their daily lives.”
“We get younger people coming in who are now addicted to prescription medication because they just can’t handle the hecticness of looking after a family. They’ve got two, three, or four kids, and their way of life has become so hectic that it is definitely affecting their mental state.”
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Calls for Stricter Regulations on Pharmacies
Kazie highlights that the issue with prescription medication is exacerbated by its widespread availability, easy access, and the lack of stringent regulations on its distribution. The practice of ‘pharmacy hopping,’ where individuals visit multiple pharmacies to obtain their medication, underscores the urgent need for a more reliable monitoring system.
Introducing stricter regulations and controls in pharmacies could help curb misuse and ensure that medications are dispensed more responsibly. This might involve creating a centralised system to track prescriptions across all pharmacies, allowing pharmacists to verify if a patient has already received the prescribed medication.
This system could be a digital database that stores all prescription records and can be accessed by pharmacists when a patient presents a new prescription.
“This has been our call for a number of years now, where pharmacies need to have a regulatory board or some sort of system in place where they can quickly detect if a patient has already received a prescription. For example, when you go to your pharmacy, they have your history on record if you are a regular patient.”
“However, there needs to be a link between all pharmacies to monitor and see if someone has already received a prescription and is now trying to obtain another one from a different pharmacy. Unfortunately, on the other hand, it’s also a matter of business. With all due respect, people come in, present a prescription, and pharmacies end up making money out of it.”
