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What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs

Recently, a range of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs have emerged as being used recreationally, either on their own or in combination with other substances, both licit and illicit, including new psychoactive substances (NPS). Among them, the misuse of prescription drugs involves not on...

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Autores principales: Chiappini, Stefania, Schifano, Fabrizio
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7602178/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33066476
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100736
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author Chiappini, Stefania
Schifano, Fabrizio
author_facet Chiappini, Stefania
Schifano, Fabrizio
author_sort Chiappini, Stefania
collection PubMed
description Recently, a range of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs have emerged as being used recreationally, either on their own or in combination with other substances, both licit and illicit, including new psychoactive substances (NPS). Among them, the misuse of prescription drugs involves not only traditionally recorded substances, such as benzodiazepines and opioid pain relievers, but also gabapentinoids (e.g., pregabalin and gabapentin); some antidepressants, e.g., bupropion and venlafaxine; some second-generation antipsychotics, e.g., quetiapine and olanzapine. Moreover, the use of some OTC for recreational purposes appears on the increase, especially in vulnerable categories such as young people/youths, including the use of high dosages of the antidiarrheal loperamide; first-generation antihistamines, e.g., promethazine, cyclizine, and diphenhydramine; cough and cold preparations containing dextromethorphan and/or codeine. In this context, the role of the Internet has rapidly increased, playing a significant role both in the diffusion of emerging trends of drug misuse among users and experimenters, and the marketing, sale, and distribution of drugs through online pharmacies. This phenomenon within the context of a rapidly modifying drug scenario is a globally recognized health problem, determining severe adverse consequences, including fatalities, and represents a challenge for clinicians in general, psychiatrists, public health, and drug-control policies.
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spelling pubmed-76021782020-11-01 What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs Chiappini, Stefania Schifano, Fabrizio Brain Sci Editorial Recently, a range of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs have emerged as being used recreationally, either on their own or in combination with other substances, both licit and illicit, including new psychoactive substances (NPS). Among them, the misuse of prescription drugs involves not only traditionally recorded substances, such as benzodiazepines and opioid pain relievers, but also gabapentinoids (e.g., pregabalin and gabapentin); some antidepressants, e.g., bupropion and venlafaxine; some second-generation antipsychotics, e.g., quetiapine and olanzapine. Moreover, the use of some OTC for recreational purposes appears on the increase, especially in vulnerable categories such as young people/youths, including the use of high dosages of the antidiarrheal loperamide; first-generation antihistamines, e.g., promethazine, cyclizine, and diphenhydramine; cough and cold preparations containing dextromethorphan and/or codeine. In this context, the role of the Internet has rapidly increased, playing a significant role both in the diffusion of emerging trends of drug misuse among users and experimenters, and the marketing, sale, and distribution of drugs through online pharmacies. This phenomenon within the context of a rapidly modifying drug scenario is a globally recognized health problem, determining severe adverse consequences, including fatalities, and represents a challenge for clinicians in general, psychiatrists, public health, and drug-control policies. MDPI 2020-10-14 /pmc/articles/PMC7602178/ /pubmed/33066476 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100736 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Editorial
Chiappini, Stefania
Schifano, Fabrizio
What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs
title What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs
title_full What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs
title_fullStr What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs
title_full_unstemmed What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs
title_short What about “Pharming”? Issues Regarding the Misuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs
title_sort what about “pharming”? issues regarding the misuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs
topic Editorial
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7602178/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33066476
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100736
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