A medication is misusedwhenever a person indiscriminately uses the med-
ication (such as when an individual uses medication that was prescribed for
someone else). A medication becomes abusedwhen the person continually
self-medicates resulting in a physical and/or a psychological dependence on
the drug.
A person is considered addictedto a medication if the person experiences
three or more of the following characteristics over six months.TOLERANCE
Tolerance occurs when an increasingly larger dose of the medication is required
to achieve the same physiological reaction. It is important to realize that tolerance
is not addiction. In some treatments, patients commonly develop a tolerance for
a drug, but don't become addicted to it. The prescriber increases the dose to
achieve the same therapeutic effect. The medication is discontinued once the
treatment is completed.WITHDRAWAL
Withdrawal is a physiological and/or psychological reaction a person experiences
when a medication is no longer administered. Prescribers properly manage treat-
ment by gradually decreasing the dose and/or frequency of administration of the
drug to avoid withdrawal symptoms in a patient.INCREASED DOSAGES
A person who is addicted tends to regularly increase the dosage of the medication
expecting to increase the physiological reaction of the drug such as reaching a
higher state of euphoria for a longer period of time.UNCONTROLLABLE USE
A person addicted to drugs is unable to control the urge to self-medicate. The
desire for the drug must be met as quickly as possible.(^62) CHAPTER 4 Substance Abuse