Three different classes of prescriptions are most susceptible to abuse:

Stimulants: most commonly prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder
Opiates: most often prescribed to treat severe or chronic pain
Tranquilizers / sedatives: frequently prescribed to treat anxiety disorders or
sleep disorders

Drug-seeking behaviors are the primary warning signs of prescription drug abuse,
regardless of the chemical make up of the medication. These behaviors include:
Frequent requests for refills from physicians, losing prescriptions and requesting
replacements regularly, crushing or breaking pills, stealing or borrowing
prescription medications from family members, friends, or co-workers,
consuming prescriptions much faster than indicated, visiting multiple doctors for
similar conditions, inconsistent answers to questions about prescription usage,
stealing or forging prescriptions, consumption of over-the-counter drugs for the
same conditions that a doctor has prescribed other medication, ordering
prescription medications over the internet.

Other behavior patterns would also include noticeable mood swings
corresponding to availability or absence of prescription drugs changing sleep
patterns, increasing irritability, especially when prescriptions are unavailable and
more frequent alcohol consumption.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS
Loss of appetite
Increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature
Dilation of pupils
Disturbed sleep patterns
Nausea
Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior
Hallucinations, hyper excitability, irritability
Panic and psychosis
Convulsions, seizures and death from high doses


LONG-TERM EFFECTS
Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain, high blood pressure
leading to heart attacks, strokes and death
Liver, kidney and lung damage
Destruction of tissues in nose if sniffed
Respiratory (breathing) problems if smoked
Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
Malnutrition, weight loss
Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
Strong psychological dependence
Psychosis
Depression
Damage to the brain including strokes and possibly epilepsy

Data:
Prescription drugs are the second most commonly abused category of drugs, behind
marijuana and ahead of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs. The National
Institutes of Health estimates that nearly 20 percent of people in the United States have
used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

About 43 percent of hospital emergency admissions for drug overdoses (nearly 500,000
people) happened because of misused prescription drugs. This type of drug abuse is
increasing partially because of the availability of drugs, including online pharmacies that
make it easier to get the drugs without a prescription, even for minors.
There may also be a perception, especially among younger people, that prescription drugs
are safer than illegal street drugs.
The number of teens and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who were new abusers of
prescription painkillers grew from 400,000 in the mid-80s to 2 million in 2000,
New misusers of tranquilizers, which are normally used to treat anxiety or tension,
increased nearly 50 percent between 1999 and 2000 alone.
In a study of students in Wisconsin and Minnesota, 34 percent of kids diagnosed with
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) said they had been approached to sell
or trade their Ritalin or Adderall, two drugs commonly used to treat symptoms of ADHD.
Conclusion:
Prescription drug should be illegal because they are the most addictive of all the drugs.
Also data shows that this addiction is exponentially increasing among children as young
as 12 years of age. Also because they are available, people tend to abuse them more often
since they know they can get their hands on more and not apparently the process does not
take very long and all they need is a piece of paper signed by a doctor who primary
motivation is money. Also, prescription drugs have the worst side effects both long term
and short term. They provoke users to act irrationally when they need they get high, whey
they are high or when they are experiencing the hangover of the drug.