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Soldiers Given More Addictive Prescription Medications Than Ever Before

Stories of soldiers returning stateside following a deployment and suffering from either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) or a host of other physical and mental problems have unfortunately become an everyday occurrence. A vast majority of these soldiers are given prescription medications to manage their various symptoms, and that is causing further problems.

According to a recent report, military personnel are ingesting prescription medications on a level never before seen. Many of these medications are addictive, and there are more soldiers becoming dependent upon these medications every day.

Federal officials have been pleading with the Department of Defense (DoD) to begin tracking and recording the prescriptions handed out to soldiers in combat. According to the House Appropriations Committee's 2012 budget report, prescription pain killers are under no model of consistent handling, which is especially true in combat situations.

Within the first two months of the approved budget, the committee is demanding answers. More specifically, they are demanding "concrete information," which details what steps must be taken, and what problems may be associated with those steps, to electronically transmit data on prescription drugs.

Army physicians have prescribed opiate painkillers to about 14% of soldiers. Oxycodone (OxyContin), which is documented as being highly addictive, accounted for 95% of those prescriptions, according to a 2010 US Army study.

Demand for anti-depressants are up tremendously since 2001 which accounts for the huge increase in military spending for prescriptions. Many of these drugs are addictive as well, and many with unsettling side effects.

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