Prescription Drugs and Celebrities
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Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. What do all of these celebrities have in common? They all died due to overdosing on prescription medication. Some speculate otherwise, but the news media reports that each one was taking some form of prescription medication for one or more ailments. For example, Heath Ledger (the most recent death) supposedly overdosed accidentally due to a combination of prescription drugs that included: Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Diazepam, Temazepam, Alprazolam, and Doxylamine.
Anna Nicole Smith’s autopsy report showed that the 39 year-old celebrity died of an accidental combination of the following drugs (which were found in her system): Chloral Hydrate, Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), Clonazepam (anti-seizure drug also used for panic attacks), Diazepam (Valium-used to treat anxiety), Nordiazepam, Temazepam, Oxazepam(used to treat anxiety), Lorazepam (Ativan- used to treat anxiety), Atropine (drug used in resuscitation), Topiramate (Topomax-used to treat seizures, migraines and sometimes used for weight control), Ciprofloxacin (Cipro-an antibiotic) and Acetaminophen (Tylenol). It turned out that Anna Nicole Smith was also battling depression after having just lost her only son, Danny, just five months earlier when he died of a supposed prescription drug overdose.
Marilyn Monroe died from overdosing on sleeping pills and even Elvis’ death was questionable because he, too, was taking several prescription medications which may have led to his having a heart attack. The bigger question to look at here is: “Are prescription drugs being given out without any sort of discretion?” To test out this theory, you needn’t go very far. Look at how quickly a child can be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and placed on Ritalin for it! Perhaps we are becoming a culture that is too overworked, overstressed or just lazy in the fact that we don’t want to have to deal with our problems. As a result, we turn to prescription drugs, alcohol or other illegal substances for some sort of temporary relief. I now open it up to you: What do you think about the ease with which a person can acquire prescription drugs as well as its impact on society?
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[...] 13, 2008 4:21 am admin Health One of the biggest news stories time and again recently is that of prescription drugs and celebrities. The issue of celebrities taking prescribed drugs begs several questions worth looking [...]
[...] Prescription drugs and celebrities has almost become a mainstream topic that no one even bats an eyelash at. The fact that so many celebrities continue to abuse drugs and the fact that increasing numbers of television viewers simply don’t care should be alarming to many people. For example, have we become so numbed by drugs in our culture that it doesn’t even warrant a second glance. It almost seems like as soon as you become a celebrity, you automatically are expected to, at some point, get plastic surgery, develop a drug and/or alcohol addiction, go to rehab and then start the entire process all over again. Sad, isn’t it? This just goes to show you the kind of pressure that we put on ourselves to be perfect and to want to conform to some imaginary ideals that we, as a society, place on ourselves! If the problems with prescribed drug abuse are going to ever be resolved, then we need to take a closer look within ourselves and at our self worth to determing what is causing it. [...]