Tranquilizers - Consequences

Consequences

Minor tranquilizers can be effective for short periods of time. However, long-term use can result in the buildup of a tolerance to the drug. This means that the body adjusts to the prescribed dosage and the individual has to take more of the drug to achieve the same effect. Individuals who increase the dose they take are in danger of over-dosing on the drug, which can result in coma and possibly death.

Tranquilizer addiction can have a damaging impact on an individual's life. Marriages may break up; families may go bankrupt; jobs may be lost; and some addicted individuals may turn to criminal behavior to obtain the drugs they crave. Addicts may turn to other drugs to try to achieve the same effects they get from tranquilizers or to ease withdrawal symptoms from tranquilizer use.

Since the 1990s and early 2000s, there has been a great deal of research conducted on the consequences of overprescribing certain major tranquilizers, especially for elderly people living in nursing homes. This research suggests that an older person living in a nursing home receives four times as many prescription drugs as an older person living in his or her own home. Critics argue that drugging these patients may make life easier for caregivers, but it leaves the patients unresponsive and alienated from their surroundings. Rather than just using drugs, they suggest trying other therapies that may result in a better quality of life for the patient. Similar concerns have surfaced for children who suffer extreme cases of autism and ADHD and are heavily medicated with major tranquilizers.