Originally published November 30 2011
More than 20 percent of American adults now on psychiatric drugs for behavioral problems
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Prescription drug addiction is a very serious problem in the US, and is typified in part by the more than 20 percent of American adults that are now hooked on pharmaceuticals for conditions like anxiety and depression. A new study conducted by Medco Health Solutions Inc., a pharmacy benefits management company, has found that one in five adults -- and one in four women -- now regularly takes at least one drug for psychiatric or behavioral disorders.
The findings, which are based on data compiled of 2.5 million patients, found that the use of behavioral drugs among adults has skyrocketed by 22 percent since 2001. The majority of adults taking behavioral drugs are still women aged 45 years or older, but many men are now taking them as well -- and based on current trends, such drug use in general is expected to continue to increase.
It used to be that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs like Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Adderall were prescribed primarily to young children. But now middle-aged adults are apparently a primary target as well, as the use of both ADHD and antipsychotic drugs among 20- to 44-year-olds has more than tripled within the past decade.
More women than men currently take drugs for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, which include Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Abilify. But the use of these drugs among men has risen fourfold within the past ten years. On the flip side, prescriptions for ADHD drugs, which have typically been more popular among males, have risen by 250 percent among females since 2001.
It is pretty clear where all this is going. The drug lords and their army of drug dealers within the mainstream medical system are in the business of getting as many people hooked on prescription drugs as possible. Millions of Americans have already been pimped to the medical mafia, and the system is working to hook the rest by whatever means possible.
Mental health screening programs have been an effective way for Big Pharma to recruit new drug users, as these screenings often detect "problems" in younger children that are not actually problems, or at least not the kind that require medication with mind-altering drugs (http://www.naturalnews.com/033969_mental_hea...). And yet these screenings have been critical in expanding the ranks of prescription drug users.
Sources for this article include:
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