Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
Los Angeles – Prescription drug abuse is not just on the rise – it has become a national crisis, according to a just-released White House study detailing a 400 percent increase in substance abuse treatment admissions for prescription pain relievers between 1998 and 2008.
The report underscores the need for regulation amid a culture that has become increasingly reliant on ever-more-powerful and addictive prescription drugs, say experts.
The non-medical use of prescription pain relievers is now the second-most prevalent form of illicit drug use in America “and its tragic consequences are seen in substance abuse treatment centers and hospital emergency departments throughout our nation,†says Pamela Hyde, administrator of The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in a statement.
The statistics are being released to highlight a problem that has become all too familiar through the high-profile deaths of such celebrities as Michael Jackson and Anna Nicole Smith. But the problem affects all ages and socioeconomic strata, says Dr. Scott Glaser, president of Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago.
From 1994 to 2003, the number of prescriptions for controlled substances rose from 22 million to 354 million annually, says Dr. Glaser. The number of admissions for misuse of prescription painkillers to hospital emergency rooms rose from some 40,000 in 1994 to over 300,000 in 2008, he adds.
“There has been a strong push among doctors in recent years to be more aggressive in addressing pain,†he notes. "This has led to the dramatic increase in opiates such as morphine, but the problem is there hasn’t been a whole lot of science to go along with that.â€
The abuse of these strong drugs is an indication of a much more widespread cultural problem, says addiction specialist Clare Kavin of The Waismann Method, a treatment center for opiate dependency, which has treated many celebrity addicts.
“We are in a culture of immediate gratification and nobody will put up with even the slightest discomfort anymore,†she says. This underlying attitude leads many patients to push for stronger painkillers when lower strength – but non-addictive – drugs would have sufficed in the past, she adds.
“We are in a perfect nightmare,†says Andrea Barthwell, who has advised the White House on national drug policies. Many of the factors that have come together to fuel this explosive problem – such as the lack of effective monitoring of prescriptions not just between doctors, but between pharmacies, and from state to state – have been well known for years.
Glaser points out that a federal monitoring program was signed into law in 2005 but funding has languished ever since. Glaser and his colleagues from the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians are just back from lobbying on Capitol Hill for $55 million to fund the program, which they say will pay for itself in five years.
Currently some 37 states have some form of monitoring, Glaser says, but they are inconsistent and lead to widespread abuse. He points to widespread practices such as:
Easy access to prescription drugs through the Internet.
Caravans of people crossing state lines – Florida is well known for its open-door clinics with easy access to drugs.
Street sales fueled by lax oversight.
Teens selling prescription drugs to each other
The increasing potency of presciption drugs can lead to what Ms. Barthwell calls a “frightening and unprecedented scenarioâ€: “In the past, the number of people exposed to opiate-level highs was very narrow,†she says. “But now, with a wide cross-section of the population for the first time experiencing this kind of dependency, we are seeing a record number of people turning to heroin when they can no longer afford the more expensive prescription drugs.â€
The data released Thursday highlight “how serious a threat to public health we face from the abuse of prescription drugs,†said Gil Kerlikowske, National Drug Policy Director, in a statement. “The spikes in prescription drug abuse rates captured by this study are dramatic, pervasive, and deeply disturbing,†he adds.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100715/ts_csm/314486
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
Thats Crazy...
Not a good trend :(
The drug companys are loving it though >:(
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
Quote:
Originally Posted by MNeagle
Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade. . .a 400 percent increase in substance abuse treatment admissions for prescription pain relievers between 1998 and 2008.
Those two are not consistent. A four-fold increase in in-patient treatments, or a four-fold increase in "abuse"?
I'm really quite sick of the US Government and its "anti-drug" campaigns. Alcohol, not marijuana, not even opiates, kills tens of thousands annually. The "Defense" Department kills tens of thousands for money & power annually, as well. So much for the Federales being interested in our "well-being."
My wife and son both have migraines, and sometimes the pain is so bad, and the non-opiates ineffective, that they must have an opiate for relief. God-damn these bastards to Hell for wanting people to suffer instead of obtaining quick relief. That's what it's come to because of the DEA. Most doctors are afraid to Rx an opiate, even Vicodin, for fear of being investigated by the secret police of the unconstitutional DEA. Don't even mention IM or IV morphine!
Fu*k this SAMHSA bitch: "We are in a culture of immediate gratification and nobody will put up with even the slightest discomfort anymore," she says. This underlying attitude leads many patients to push for stronger painkillers when lower strength – but non-addictive – drugs would have sufficed in the past, she adds. No you, clueless fu*k, sometimes your "non-addictive" sh*t don't work! You people have deemed countless poisons in our water and air and the entire human environment as "safe" and "effective," and nowadays people suffer myriad ailments because of your poisons for profit, (increased) migraines being one of them. Every time a chemtrail pours down on us, the migraines come on. I don't want a wife and kid drug-addict, but neither will I tolerate them suffering 6-8 level pain for 10-12 hours for some "public policy." You pieces of sh*t won't even let them have "non-addictive" marijuana for relief!
And really, who gives a damn if some wacko like Jacko offs themselves with lethal doses of anesthetics? Is using an opiate "worse" than alcohol poisoning?
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
dope the entire herd.. have 300 million low wage consumers to tax... TPTB still rake in the big bucks
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
Quote:
Originally Posted by StackerKen
Thats Crazy...
Not a good trend :(
The drug companys are loving it though >:(
Actually; narcotics are cheap, they don't make the drug companies that much, it's the AB's and the meds for the chronic diseases that make the drug companies VERY rich
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
Quote:
Originally Posted by willie pete
Quote:
Originally Posted by StackerKen
Thats Crazy...
Not a good trend :(
The drug companys are loving it though >:(
Actually; narcotics are cheap, they don't make the drug companies that much, it's the AB's and the meds for the chronic diseases that make the drug companies VERY rich
Indeed. Opiates are a few dollars a bottle to make. The primary drug used for intense migraines, the Triptans, are hundreds of dollars a package. And one of them almost killed my wife, so she can't use them (my kid does).
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
My wife has Fibromyalgia (chronic pain) and she takes Darvacet and Soma
Your right they are cheap.
But
Oxycodone is an Opiate. I don't think is cheap (I wouldn't know)
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
Quote:
Originally Posted by StackerKen
My wife has Fibromyalgia (chronic pain) and she takes Darvacet and Soma
Your right they are cheap.
But
Oxycodone is an Opiate. I don't think is cheap (I wouldn't know)
Oxycodone is cheap. Brand name Oxycontin, Percodan, or Percocet are not.
Re: Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade
Quote:
Originally Posted by StackerKen
My wife has Fibromyalgia (chronic pain) and she takes Darvacet and Soma
Your right they are cheap.
But
Oxycodone is an Opiate. I don't think is cheap (I wouldn't know)
Oxycodone is a synthetic, brand names are more expensive, even so, the narcotics aren't the money makers for big Pharma, I heard the other day the FDA is considering taking Avandia off the market, due to an increase in risk to a small population, they also said since the few short years Avandia has been on the market, GSK has made about $2 billion in profit on it :D
