Prescription drug abuse is currently one of the leading health problems facing the state of Oklahoma. In 2012, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics reported that 534 residents died from prescription drug overdoses and that more than half of them were from drugs prescribed by their own doctors. Over the past five years, prescription painkiller abuse has increased at an alarming and shocking rate in Oklahoma. Narcotic painkillers are the drug of choice for many of our residents, causing a higher than average number of drug overdose deaths. The state must find out what drugs people seek and where they obtain them, while proposing measures to make them more difficult to access and providing mental health and substance abuse services to those who are addicted to them. Many people may consider prescription drug abuse not to be a real drug. issue. They equate illegal street drugs like marijuana, heroin, cocaine and crack, which we often hear referred to as drugs. Since painkillers are prescribed by a doctor, many believe that it is not a medicine but simply a medicine. While this may be partly true, when the medicine the doctor gives you is overused or given to someone the doctor has never seen; It’s prescription drug abuse. According to the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the United States consumes 80% of the world's pain medications, despite having only 6% of the world's population. Prescription pain medication addiction is the irresistible desire to seek out and take more prescription medications for recreational purposes. use rather than the intended medical purpose. The opiates in painkillers cause changes in the brain that cause the user to need them to feel a sense of euphoria rather than for pain relief. Some... middle of paper ...... giving the addict a sense of self-worth. Works Cited American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. "American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. Web. April 30, 2014. CRC Health Group.crchealth.com/addiction/prescription-drug-adiction-2Kazzi, Antoine A. and Joel M. Schofer: AAEM Rules of Conduct for medical students Milwaukee, WI: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, 2003. Print Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs - Web Prescription Monitoring Program, April 30, 2014. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Oklahoma ok.gov/odmhsas" United States Department of Health and Human Services. HHS.gov." United States Department of Health and Human Services | HHS.gov. Web. April 30, 2014. US Food and Drug Administration." United States Food and Drug Administration Home Page. Internet. April 30 2014.