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STUDENT NHD MEMOS

Essential Question: Pills; solving problems or creating them? In order to curb America's dependency on __prescription__ pills, we must educate, monitor, and control how these pills become involved in our society.

MEMO I: __TOPIC__ PROPOSAL......................................................due Thursday, April 5th April 5th To: Mrs. Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: Memo 1

In modern day America, it seems as if people have become too dependent. Instead of trying to solve problems themselves, they rely on other outside forces to do the dirty __work__. Due to the fact that people have become more dependent, certain industries in society have thrived off of the needy people. The pharmaceutical and scientific industry has been extremely successful because of the creation of one, tiny object; an object that has overtaken the people of this generation; pills. America has become too dependent on pills. Katie Couric, a reporter and journalist for CBS news, states that “Americans seem to be looking for a quick fix for everything from brittle bones to __anxiety__, from sleeplessness to __erectile dysfunction__. And there's a drug - or drugs - for all of them”(Couric). There is a pill for absolutely everything. In this society, the mind-set is: if you have a problem, take a pill. Dr. William Morgan says in his article for the American Chiropractic Association that “everyday science brings us news of more and more conditions that can be treated with a pill rather than lifestyle alterations”(Morgan). The overuse of pills has contributed to many issues in society dealing with unhealthy habits and pill abuse.
 * Part 1.**

Pills; solving problems or creating them?
 * Part 2. **

In order to curb America's dependency on __prescription__ pills, we must educate, monitor, and control how these pills become involved in our society.
 * Part 3. **

April 10th To: Mrs Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: memo 2

Throughout history, Americans have become too dependent on pills and other medications. Pharmaceutical companies and chemists from all around the country have developed pills to solve virtually every problem. There are pills for __headaches__, body pains, mental illnesses, and even __weight control__. These scientific developments have caused a revolution in society; instead of solving our problems by making healthy life choices, we just pop a pill. The pharmaceutical revolution has remarkably changed Americans approach to __prescription medications__ and OTC pills. Pharmaceutical companies have launched quality by design(QbD) which “is a science- and risk-based approach to drug product development”(Late Stage Pharmaceutical and Processing Development). The companies use this development strategy to __improve__ product quality and ensure customers of the necessity and safety of their product. It has become very __easy__ for average Americans to obtain these drugs through simple prescriptions and __easy__ access to __drug stores__. There has also been a revolution of __online pharmacies__ that have attracted customers, which poses as a problem considering they are illegal. Authors of an article found in the Annals of Internal Medicine on EBSCOhost state that “While the Internet promotes access to medications, this benefit is vitiated by the growth of illegitimate __online pharmacies__ that __sell__ __prescription medications__ without an established physician-patient relationship”(Annals of Internal Medicine). The __easy__ access and readily available medications in our society have contributed to the problem that many people are faced with today, the abuse and addiction to all types of pills.

Ines Morales of The Earth Times writes “Forget about cocaine, heroine, or methamphetamines. At least in the US, prescription drugs are quickly overtaking them”(Morales). The abuse of prescription drugs has become a growing problem in the US over the past few years. These drugs are usually prescribed for acute and chronic pains, weight control, or as a contraceptive, but many people have become so dependent on their medication that they begin to abuse it and take it more often. “The prescription drug problem is a crisis that is steadily worsening,” says Dr. Len Paulozzi, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He also states “The vast majority of unintentional drug overdose deaths are not the result of toddlers getting into medicine cabinets or the elderly mixing up their pills”(Paulozzi). It is the young adults and working age people that abuse these drugs and die from overdose. Ines Morales states in her article that “a recent national survey found that medical pills rank second in young people’s list of preferred drugs”(Morales). This supports the fact that drug overdose from prescription pills is the second leading cause of unintentional death in the United States. The prescription drug problem in our society has become so widespread that it has been labeled an epidemic and many government agencies and outreach programs have tried to fight it. By making people aware of this growing problem, then maybe the pill popping culture will make its way out of our society.

April 13th To: Mrs Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: Memo 3

Pills have a long history. Dating all the way back to the 1800s, pills of all kinds have been a part of our society in some way or another. Whether it be diet pills, contraceptive pills, or simply pain pills; their impact on society is all the same. Each one, while creating some sort of revolution, has also created many problems. They have been abused by millions all across the country. The pharmaceutical revolution invented these pills and in turn, gets a reaction that is dangerous and deadly; prescription drug abuse.

The invention of pills has brought on a long list of both positives and negatives to our society. Each type of pill has an extensive history and a backlash to their creation. Diet pills are one of these revolutionary ideas that did both good and bad for society. Frank Whittemore writes, “Beginning in the late 19th century, attitudes concerning weight, particularly among women, began to shift toward a slimmer, more athletic appearance. This change brought about a search for solutions that would make losing weight easier”(Whittemore). The upcoming change in society in the late 19th century brought about the invention of diet pills. They evolved through the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, constantly changing formulas and making it easier for people to lose weight. Diet pills still exist in our society today and still appeal to those wanting to be in better shape. Another revolutionary pill is that of “The Pill” or the birth control pill. While the actual contraceptive pill wasn’t approved until the 1960s, the idea of the pill was invented in the early 1900s by activist Margaret Sanger, leader of the American Birth Control League, now known as Planned Parenthood(Nikolchev). Sanger, along with many chemists and supporters, made the pill possible in 1960 and by 1962 the pill was “...an instant hit. After two years, 1.2 million American women were on the pill;[and] after three years, the number almost doubled to 2.3 million women”(Nikolchev). The Pill revolutionized the natural process of conception, which made it so popular. However, one of the biggest types of pills that are both helpful and harmful are painkillers. Beginning in the 16th century, painkillers were being derived from the opium poppy and started being used in thousands of medical remedies, one of the first being morphine. “Morphine was first extracted from opium in a pure form in the early 19th century, It was used widely as a painkiller during the American Civil War..”(Foundation for a Drug Free World). From there on, new painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin made their way into our society. Clearly, the invention of these pills have been a very large part of history and in some way, have been quite beneficial. On the other hand, they have all been used in an abusive manner and have contributed to an overall problem of America’s dependence on pills.

Prescription drug and pill abuse began with the inventions of these pills, but the people in our society using them have contributed to the problem. Each pill has a history; one of when it was invented, and one of when and how it was, and still is, abused. The diet pill was revolutionary in the way it made losing weight fast and easy. However, these pills are extremely dangerous when overused and can cause many problems. August McLaughlin states “Diet pill use often accompanies eating disorder symptoms and adds serious potential risks”(McLaughlin). It has been proven that the use of diet pills have led to numerous eating disorders. “ According to a report published in "Eating Behaviors" in January 2008, people who purge through vomiting or other means or have a markedly high or low body mass index, or BMI, are more likely to abuse diet pills than people who do not meet these characteristics”. Diet pills have always had a very large part in the mess of eating disorders and the problem it has caused many people in society. Another revolutionary pill that has caused a change in our society is the birth control pill. Invented for contraception in the 1960s, the overuse of this pill has essentially caused the sexual revolution, making our society more susceptible to sexual behavior in everyday life. Finally, what is one of the most abused substances in America, prescription pills and painkillers have brought on the greatest history is pill abuse out of all of these pills. In early America, the “prescription drug market was unregulated. Any entrepreneur was entirely free to market concoctions as medications”(Waterberry). America has had a large population addicted to prescription drug ever since the early 1900s. It all began before that when Civil War soldiers were treated for pain with morphine, a well-known and frequently used painkiller. When soldiers returned home from the war, they became addicted to the morphine and started to take more than they needed. Moving through history, prescription drug abuse became more and more prominent in society. “Two world wars led to research and development in the pharmaceutical bringing sedatives, tranquilizers, pain killers, and stimulants. A fairly laissez faire approach to the problem of prescription and illicit drug addiction was pulled up during the Nixon administration, whereby a ‘war on drugs” was declared”. The war on drugs brought about countless attempts to curb the abuse of prescription drugs by investing billions of dollars and many hours of work into organizations and programs. However, most of that would be considered a waste because the problem of prescription drug abuse is s till alive today. Currently, many teens and young adults have been affiliated with prescription drug abuse. “National studies show that a teen is more likely to have abused a prescription drugthan an illegal street drug”(Foundation for a Drug-Free World). Teenagers think that because prescription drugs are prescribed by a doctor, that they are safe, when really they are just as dangerous as illegal street drugs. This problem has evolved into society today and has greatly affected millions of people.

April 17th To: Mrs Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: memo 4

In order to curb America's dependency on prescription pills, physicians need to be better educated on these pills, the government needs to be more involved within monitoring of these pills, and advertising needs to reigned in. The problem is that Americans take a pill to solve every problem. However, do pills solve our problems, or create them? America’s dependency has grown into a growing issue of abuse, especially in prescription drugs. Many people abuse certain diet pills or OTC pills but the major issue lies within the prescription pills. The pill popping revolution has changed society’s behavior towards pills and has caused people to become addicted and abusive. A solution to this problem is simple. First, physicians need to be better educated on prescription pills. It is necessary that they learn about all aspects of the pill, not just what it does or the simple side effects. Physicians need to learn about the potential of the pill of being addictive. In turn, the physicians will know how to prescribe these pills to the right people who are able to handle it. Second, the government needs to have a tighter grasp on how drugs are distributed. One of the main ways that prescription pills are abused is that prescriptions can be easily refilled by anyone, even if the prescription does not belong to them. Advertising these drugs is also a way that these drugs are sold off to consumers, and most of the time, the consumers do not know enough information about the drugs and tend to buy drugs they don't need. With more rules and regulations, less advertising, and better pill education for physicians, the large number of prescription drug abusers will decrease and the problem will be solved.

The first solution to the problem is through the education of physicians. Many doctors do not know about certain prescription pills and how addictive they are. Therefore, they prescribe them to patients without having any knowledge about the pills. Kevin Sabet, an assistant professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida, states that “ prescribers and physicians have to do their fair share. They should be subject to mandatory education and training on proper prescription practices (methadone and oxycodone, for example, are very different drugs, yet they are often prescribed interchangeably, leading to unintentional overdose) and on the nature of addiction, which is shockingly under taught in mainstream medical education today”(Sabet). Since “ many physicians and dentists are not up to speed on how dangerous certain drugs are. They prescribe the drugs, sometimes with refills, before trying non-addictive options”(USA Today). In our society, the under-education of doctors has become a growing issue considering “Between 80 and 90 percent of doctors in the United States have no formal training in prescribing opioid medications”(Vimont), according to David Kloth, MD, a Connecticut-based pain management specialist and spokesperson and former president of ASIPP. There are millions of people in this country that fight the battle with prescription drug abuse. We need to make sure that only doctors who know of these substances prescribe them, and that the other physicians that do not, they need to learn more about the danger of these pills.

The second aspect of my plan needed to solve this problem is the monitoring and regulation of the pharmaceutical distribution of prescription pills. The government needs to get involved more within the pharmaceutical companies and prevent them from wrongly distributing these pills. In the past, the government made countless attempts to regulate prescription drug abuse. However, no plans worked and this time around, the government needs to go straight to the source of the problem. Kevin Sabet states, “our governments must lead a more coordinated and v igorous attack on this problem. That means more investments in community-based drug prevention and treatment..”. He also says that “[the] industry has a part to play in this too. The formulation of drugs that cannot be abused...and funding for education efforts in health care settings need to become higher priorities for pharmaceutical companies”(Sabet). Many doctors are unaware of the amount of prescriptions a patient might be receiving, therefore databases need to be set up in order to monitor patients the receive multiple prescriptions(USA Today). When the government begins to monitor the distribution of the drugs, there will be less cases of abuse. Already this plan is in effect considering “In recent months the DEA(Drug Enforcement Administration) has tightened the squeeze on major national pharmacies as a way of preventing pain pills such as oxycodone from getting to the black market”(Barrett). There is also the aspect of advertising. If advertising of these drugs were to be reigned in, people wouldn't be so susceptible to buying drugs they don't need. These efforts to stop prescription drug abuse all support my plan to fix this problem and this broken, addicted society.

April 22nd To: Mrs. Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: Memo 5

Patients should be held accountable for their own actions. Doctors and physicians are not responsible for the abusive and addictive behavior of their patients. Lawrence Delevingne, a journalist based in New York City, where he’s a staff writer for hedge fund publication [|AR Magazine], states “As more medicines become available, more are abused or used incorrectly”(Delevingne). However, this is not the fault of the doctors. In today’s world, doctors don’t have a lot of time to spend with patients, and patients often switch health care providers, leaving the doctors out of the loop on what medications the patient is taking(Delevingne). The cause of prescription pill abuse lies not in the doctor, but in the patient. More education for physicians is not needed. What is needed is a “government-run, Internet based, drug tracking system”. Patients are not trustworthy enough with their pills, and it is their own actions that is causing the problem.

The role of doctors and physicians within prescription pill abuse is unnaturally high. Physicians need to know more about these pills and how to prescribe them. What is a better way to do this than a pill education? Many doctors in this country are begging for an education on prescription pills. They worry that without this education, they could be fired or possibly sued. Doctors testify that “better training will lead to fewer inappropriate prescriptions”(The Fix). Dr. David Kloth, a pain management physician and spokesman for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, argues that “Doctors contribute innocently because they haven’t been trained properly on how to prescribe in a responsible way how to identify a drug addict and help them”(Kloth). Doctors do play a role in this problem, but only because they are not educated enough. If physicians receive a better education and gain more knowledge, they will be able to help those who are addicted and prevent addictions from happening.

Clearly, my position on a prescription pill education for doctors will be effective. “80-90% of physicians in the US have no training or education in the use of controlled substances”(Kloth). With my plan for education, this number will be reduced, prescription pill abuse will be curbed, and doctors will become more knowledgeable and reliable.

April 24th To: Mrs Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: Memo 6

"Less government. Less state regulation. Less government intrusion in our everyday lives"(Lamberti, Llorente). Within the market of pharmaceuticals and prescription drugs, the less government involvement, the better. According to Richard Frank, “The US government is a major purchaser of prescription drugs”(Frank). This concludes that the government is extremely powerful within the business, which is destructive for the pharmaceutical companies. The government is very much involved in the pricing of prescription drugs, Paul Guppy, the Vice President of Research for the Washington Policy Center, states “there is a real danger that increased government control could smother the bold innovation that makes new-drug treatments possible”(Guppy). The pharmaceutical industry would be so heavily impacted by the price controls and regulations that it would “stifle the industry and make the problem of drug availability, and the general economy, worse”(Guppy). With the rising drug prices, patients won’t be able to afford medications and the ability for companies to invent new drugs will disappear, as the companies will have little money to conduct experiments. To pharmaceutical companies, less government in their business is better. More involvement would do nothing for the business and hurt it more than help it.

While less government involvement may be ideal in some situations, the problem of prescription drug abuse is not one of them. People die of overdose everyday and less government involvement is not ideal. “The number of prescriptions statewide increased by almost six million, from 16.6 million in 2007 to nearly 22.5 million in 2010”(WHEC). With so many prescriptions comes a lot of people who abuse them. Government involvement in prescription drug abuse can and will be extremely beneficial. The government can be involved in numerous ways. One way is through the prices of prescription medications. By raising the prices of these drugs, pharmaceutical companies are able to, according to Duff Wilson of the New York Times, “maintain the profits necessary to invest in research and development of new drugs”(Wilson). This will improve our overall knowledge of these drugs and help prevent the creations of addictive drugs. Another way for the government to be more involved is through monitoring of prescriptions. In the market today, the is an abundant amount of "unwitting use of dangerous drug combinations" and the method of " 'doctor shopping', when patients get more drugs than needed from various sources"(Delevigne). There is only one response to this problem: government involvement. The government needs to become more involved in this problem in order to fix it. The government needs to create online tracking systems that will demolish the ability for addicts to "doctor shop". By demolishing this risk of online drug shopping and regulating prescriptions, the government can regulate who the products are distributed to and keep them out of the hands of addicts.

Government involvement benefits pharmaceutical companies and addicts and their loved ones. In order to curb the problem, the government needs to be more involved in the process.

April 29th To: Mrs Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: Memo 7

The purpose of advertising products to consumers is to get the consumers to buy. Direct to consumer(DTC) advertising is an extremely successful strategy for selling drugs. These ads promote the drugs in an educational manner and help consumers seek treatment for thir problems. Ronald Bailey, Reason magazine’s science correspondent, argues “Drug ads clearly do inform and educate patients. Research shows that direct-to-consumer advertising empowers patients by helping them identify their conditions and enables them to take more responsibility for their health care”(Bailey). Not only do these advertisements help consumers recognize any ailments they may have but according to surveys of both physicians and patients “one out of five, approximately, says that to see the advertisement helps that patient remember to take his or her medication”(Taurel). Advertisements also shed light on certain health conditions that are not as known. Sidney Taurel, chairman, president, and CEO of Eli Lilly, states “one[public health benefits] is you can see for the majority of products which are advertised that they deal with conditions which, according to medical experts and the data available, are under-treated...All these areas are today undertreated, and direct-to-consumer advertising helps educate patients and bring them to the doctor’s office”(Taurel). Overall, DTC advertising, or just advertising in general, is helpful and necessary for drugs to sell and for people to be medicated. This tactic of selling prescription drugs has educated people and made them realize that these drugs are necessary.

One of the underlying problems contributing to prescription drug abuse is that of DTC (direct-to-consumer) advertising. Consumers will get information from just about anywhere, without knowing how reliable the source is. Many consumers get their information from media advertisements. While advertising the drug is great for the companies, it poses as a possible danger to consumers and doctors. By reigning in DTC advertising, prescription pill abuse could be avoided and unencouraged. DTC advertising “convinces consumers that they need drugs that they may not need, that they need some drugs at all”(Angell). Marcia Angell, former editor and chief of The New England Journal of Medicine says “this kind of marketing [that] is designed to convince people that they need pills”(Angell). Advertising simply just encourages the pill-popping culture of our society and in turn, can lead to prescription pill abuse. Advertisements also intrigue consumers by falsely educating them of the effects of the drug. Julie M. Donohue, and assistant professor at the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, argues that “ It seems absurd to think of those funny drug ads we see on TV with their long list of side effects as educational. The collective wisdom about commercials in general is that they are intended to boost sales through emotional appeals rather than information provision...Studies of drug ads show that they tend to overemphasize the benefits of a drug and downplay the risks suggesting limited educational potential. For the sake of the patient, it’s better to regulate drug ads than to eliminate them”(Donohue). Drug ads are causing people to pick and use certain drugs based on the effect given off by the commercial, not the drug itself. The consumers then may request the advertised drug, even though it may be unnecessary or harmful, thus causing an overmedicated and unhealthy society(ProCon). If consumers want the advertised drugs, then they must go to their doctor and ask for a prescription. The doctors become involved in this and are, along with their patients, affected negatively by advertising. Marcia Angell writes “Doctors don’t want to lose patients. They don’t want to say no to patients. They’re in some sense too busy to say no to patients”(Angell). If a doctor refuses a patient a prescription, they may lose business. As a result, they write prescriptions to make customers happy and they become part of the problem that causes abuse, all due to advertising.

If advertising was controlled, then consumers wouldn’t feel as if they need to buy every drug that they see on the TV screen. The pill-popping culture that has been created in our society will subside and consumers will be able to receive quality information from other sources, and not the media.

May 1 To: Mrs Sidor From: Alex Kern Subject: Memo 8

America is too dependent. Our culture today has made it okay for people to just pop a pill whenever needed. Pills have been invented to solve almost every problem, but I believe that being overweight or having major headaches isn’t the problem here. The pills are the problem. The abuse is the problem. Millions of people die every year from overdose of pills, in particular, prescription pills. This is an issue created by a revolution that needs to be controlled. While, doctors are too busy or aren’t educated enough to write a proper prescription, their patient is abusing their pills. While the government remains out of sight and mind from pharmaceutical companies, druggies are getting their pills cheap and as quick as possible. While DTC advertisements are flashing across every TV screen in America, consumers are eating it up, wanting every drug to solve their problems, even if they don’t know much about it. Lives are taken from this world for many reasons; overdose on prescription pills doesn’t need to be one of them. If we educate the doctors, patients will not be susceptible to taking more medication than they should. If we have the government monitor and raise the prices of these drugs, only those who are truly responsible for them will have them. If we reign in DTC advertising, consumers will have incentive to find out reliable information about these pills, not false information. We need to take action and decrease that number of people that die of overdose. This problem can be solved, but only with the plan I have provided. A Chinese proverb states, “It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions but hard to get one single remedy.”


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 22px;">ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY **

"Analysis: Pros and Cons of Drug Advertising and Marketing." PBS. Frontline, 19 June 2003. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org>. Many people came together in this article on PBS in order to give their opinions on DTC advertising of prescription drugs. These articles have given me supporting and opposing arguments for my paper and have greatly helped me compose my memo 7.

Barrett, Devlin. "Pain-Pill Crackdown Spreads." The Wall Street Journal (Apr. 2012): A1. Print. Devlin Barrett, a writer and journalist for the Wall Street Journal, writes in his article about the concept of cracking down on prescription pill distribution. This article covers some steps that are already being made to solve this problem in pharmacies around the country. The information he gives supports my plan to stop prescription drug abuse and is needed to support my paper.

Couric, Katie. "Pill-Popping." Katie Couric's Notebook: Pill-Popping : n. pag. Print. From CBS News Katie Couric is a writer and reporter for CBS News. In her notebook of pill-popping, she describes how there is a pill for everything and that Americans have become too dependent on pills. This supports my essential question for my paper.

Delevingne, Lawrence. "Prescription Drug Abuse: Blame Doctors (Con)." Business Week : n. pag. Print.

Lawrence Delevingne is a journalist based in New York City, where he’s a staff writer for hedge fund publication <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|AR Magazine]. In BusinessWeek Magazine, he writes in an article about how patients are responsible for their own actions when it comes to prescription drug abuse. He does not believe that doctors need more education on these pills because he believes that the doctor is not at fault whatsoever. I on the other hand disagree with his argument, which makes his article perfect for my paper. Since he completely disagrees with me, I am able to reinforce my position by opposing his.

"Doctors Tell Congress: It;s Not Our Fault." The Fix. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. While there is no specific author for this article on The Fix, the author does quite Dr. David Kloth, a pain management physician and spokesman for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. Dr. Kloth supports my position in that doctors need more education on prescription pills in order to prescribe them correctly and prevent abuse. This helps my paper because his argument provides me with backup evidence that supports my argument, which will help me persuade people to agree with me.

"Editorial: Prescription drugs deaths demand attention." USA Today 20 Feb. 2012: n. pag. Print This article in the magazine USA Today has no stated author, however the information given is quite useful. The writer of this article is very supportive of monitoring prescription drug distribution and physician education, as am I. This article will give me the evidence i need to support my position for this paper.

The Editors. "Should Prescription Drug Ads Be Reined In?" The New York Times 4 Apr. 2009: n. pag. Print. Many editors from the New York Times came together and give their opinions on whether direct-to-consumer advertising is necessary or needed in this society. They give me information that will either support or oppose my argument that advertising needs to be reigned in.

Frank, Richard G. "Government Commitment And Regulation Of Prescription Drugs." Health Affairs. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://content.healthaffairs.org>. Richard Frank is the Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics in the Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, in Boston. In his article on Health Affairs, he writes about government regulation on drugs. He explains how the government is a major purchaser of prescription drugs and how they are making prices of these drugs too high. Frank’s article is helping my paper by providing an opposing argument for my memo 6.

Guppy, Paul. "Price Controls Are Not the Answer to Rising Prescription Drug Costs." Washington Policy Center (Nov. 2001): n. pag. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. Paul Guppy is the Vice President of Research for the Washington Policy Center. In his article he writes about how price regulations on prescription drugs are not the answer to the problem and how the government is ruining the pharmaceutical companies. This helps my paper by providing yet another opposing position for my sixth memo.

Hanson, Karmen. "A Pill Problem." State Legislatures 36.3: 22-25. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. Karmen Hanson is a writer for State Legislatures magazine. In her article, she interviews Dr. Len Paulozzi, a medical epidemiologist about the oncoming problem with prescription drugs. This gives me information from credible sources about how rapidly prescription drug abuse is spreading.

Jena, Anupram B, et al. "Prescription Medication Abuse and Illegitimate Internet-Based Pharmacies." Annals of Internal Medicine 155.12: 848-850. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. Written by multiple medical students at the American College of Physicians, this article give an insight about illegal online pharmacies and how prescription drugs are being obtained by anyone that wants to abuse them. This article allows me to fully understand how and why people want to obtain these drugs.

Lamberti, Al, and Marcelo Llorente. "Drug Monitoring Program Worth Saving." Sun Sentinel 5 Mar. 2011: n. pag. Print. Al Lamberti and Marcelo Llorente are writers for the Florida newspaper called the Sun Sentinel. I used a quote that they wrote about less government involvement in our everyday lives to support my opposing position of less government involvement in prescription drugs.

Martin, Moe S, et al. "A new roadmap for biopharmaceutical drug product development: Integrating development, validation, and quality by design." Journal Of <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Pharmaceutical] Sciences 100 (Mar. 2011): 3031-43. MEDLINE. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. The authors of this journal explain the process of pharmaceutical companies and how they reach new ways to develop their products. This gives me an insight into the pharmaceutical revolution and how they make their products.

McLaughlin, August. "Diet Pills & The Dangers of Eating Disorders." Livestrong. N.p., 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. August McLaughlin is a Health writer for various publications, including LiveStrong.com, EHow.com, I Am That Girl, Healthy Aging Magazine, and CitySmart Magazine. Her article on Livestrong emphasized the dangers that diet pills bring and explains that one of the biggest dangers is eating disorders. This article will help my paper because it brings out the dangers in pills when Americans abuse them.

Morales, Ines. "The Rise of Prescription <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Drug Abuse] ." The Earth Times 2 Nov. 2011: n. pag. Print. Ines Morales is a writer for the Earth Times newspaper and in her article she brings aarness to the rise of prescription drug abuse and gives information about how the government plans to solve this problem. This will help my paper because I can figure out what people plan to do about this issue.

Morgan, William. "Reaching a Pill Popping Generation." American Chiropractic Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. Dr. Morgan is a chiropractor in two Washington DC health clinics and he is adjunct faculty for F. Edward Hebert School of medicine. In his article he explains that America has developed more and more ways to solve our problems with pills instead of healthy life choices. This proves my essential question about if pills can truly solve our problems or if they have just created one.

Nikolchev, Alexandra. "A Brief History of the Birth Control Pill." PBS. N.p., 7 May 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Alexandra Nikochev, A graduate of New York University’s news and documentary master’s program, has had several years of school and work experience in all major areas of production and post production work. Her article on PBS gives some background information on the history of the birth control pill and how many people use it in society. Her article will help my paper because it gives me information that i need to prove my point.

"NY attorney general pushing for pill tracking system." WHEC. NBC News, 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.whec.com>. This article on WHEC which is sponsored by NBC News provides me with a surprising statistic about the number of prescriptions prescribed each year. This helps my paper because it gives the reader a look into how in depth this problem is.

"Painkillers: A Short History." Foundation for a Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. This article written on the website for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a perfect source for the history of painkillers in our society, which in turn leads to the abuse of these pills because of our dependency. This is a major help to my paper because it basically supports my point that Americans have become too dependent on pills.

Sabet, Kevin. "How to Treat the Epidemic." The New York Times 15 Feb. 2012: n. pag. Print <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kevin A. Sabet, an assistant professor in the College of Medicine, division of addiction studies, at the University of Florida, writes in his article on the New York Times about the need to solve the epidemic of prescription pill abuse. He explains that physicians need more training on these pills and pharmacies need to be more regulated and that the government needs to be more involved. This will help my paper because he supports my vision on how to solve this problem that has created a revolution.

"Should Prescription Drugs be Advertised Directly to Consumers?" ProCon. N.p., 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.

This article posted on ProCon gives the pros and cons of DTC advertising of prescription drugs. These facts will help me develop my argument and my opposers argument for whether DTC advertising should be reigned in or not.

Vimont, Celia. "Calls Grow for Mandatory Education for Physician Opioid Prescribing." Drugfree. Boston University, 7 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.drugfree.org>.

Celia Vimont, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"> a freelance writer and editor specializing in health and medical topics, writes in her article on Drugfree about the need for education of physicians on pill usage. Many physicians are not properly educated on certain prescription pills and Vimont realizes this and supports my plan for having extended education for physicians.

Waterberry, Jane. "The History of <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Prescription Drug Addiction] in America." Narconon Drug <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Rehab] Blog News Center. N.p., 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Jane Waterberry, a blogger for the Narconon Drug Rehab Center, explains a perspective on the history of prescription drug abuse in America and how it all started. This will help me understand where and when this ongoing problem started and it will help me think of a solution.

Whittemore, Frank. "The History of Diet Pills." Livestrong. N.p., 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Frank Whittemore, a health writer for Livestrong, writes about the history of diet pills and how they first became prominent in our society. This will help my paper because it gives me the background information that i need to figure out how to solve the overall problem.

Wilson, Duff. "Drug Makers Raise Prices in Face of Health Care Reform." The New York Times 15 Nov. 2009: n. pag. Print.

Duff Wilson is a staff reporter with the New York Times. His article about rising prescription drug prices in the New York Times talks about how the pharmaceutical companies are dealing with the rising prices. This helps my argument because it supports my position that the rising prices are good and are helping pharmaceutical companies make more drugs.