Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Friday, January 29, 2010
West Virginia Lawmakers Tackle Prescription Drug Abuse
This week, the West Virginia Senate introduced legislation designed to address the state's problem with prescription drug abuse. On Wednesday, lawmakers introduced five bills, bringing the total number of new bills under consideration to seven.
West Virginia currently has the highest overdose rate of any state in the nation, and lawmakers are making an effort turn the tide of drug abuse in the state and bring this rate down. A December 2008 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicated that West Virginia's rate of accidental fatal overdoses was almost twice the national average.
The bills introduced this week focus on curbing "drug diversion" -- the illegal procurement of prescription medications by lying to doctors, buying on the black market or theft.
Democratic senator Ron Stollings, a physician who is leading the charge, commented: "I am out there every day, seeing patients and trying to do good, empathetic, appropriate care, and at the same time not allowing this fraud and abuse to continue."
The new legislation would require, among other things, that prescriptions be written on tamper-proof forms, the penalties be stiffened for using false information to obtain medication, and that all pharmacies in the state give pharmacists access to a controlled substances database.
(Source: www.businessweek.com)
West Virginia currently has the highest overdose rate of any state in the nation, and lawmakers are making an effort turn the tide of drug abuse in the state and bring this rate down. A December 2008 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicated that West Virginia's rate of accidental fatal overdoses was almost twice the national average.
The bills introduced this week focus on curbing "drug diversion" -- the illegal procurement of prescription medications by lying to doctors, buying on the black market or theft.
Democratic senator Ron Stollings, a physician who is leading the charge, commented: "I am out there every day, seeing patients and trying to do good, empathetic, appropriate care, and at the same time not allowing this fraud and abuse to continue."
The new legislation would require, among other things, that prescriptions be written on tamper-proof forms, the penalties be stiffened for using false information to obtain medication, and that all pharmacies in the state give pharmacists access to a controlled substances database.
(Source: www.businessweek.com)
Labels: laws, overdose, prescription-drug-abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 9:12 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Monday, November 30, 2009
Drug-Related Deaths Increase in West Virginia
This week, a psychiatrist with the Chestnut Ridge Center at West Virginia University Hospital, spoke to substance abuse prevention advocates about the increasing prescription painkiller problem in the state. The speech was part of the 17th annual West Virginia Statewide Substance Abuse Prevention Conference, held at the Charleston Civic Center.
The psychiatrist, Dr. Jim Berry, sees patients frequently who are struggling with painkiller addiction and who know people who have died from accidental overdoses, and it's becoming a more and more common occurrence.
Berry commented, "We've noticed a big problem with prescription pain pills. A lot of people are dying."
In 2007, West Virginia led the United States in overdose deaths. The state also experienced an increase in "poisonous deaths" from 2001 to 2006. Of these, 78 percent were considered to be accidental overdoses and most involved opioids such as oxycodone or methadone.
Berry relates that painkillers seem to be accessible to more and more people at younger and younger ages: "Nowadays, more and more people I'm seeing for detox (say they) started using opioids before they starting used anything else ... and at a very young age."
(Source: www.herald-dispatch.com)
The psychiatrist, Dr. Jim Berry, sees patients frequently who are struggling with painkiller addiction and who know people who have died from accidental overdoses, and it's becoming a more and more common occurrence.
Berry commented, "We've noticed a big problem with prescription pain pills. A lot of people are dying."
In 2007, West Virginia led the United States in overdose deaths. The state also experienced an increase in "poisonous deaths" from 2001 to 2006. Of these, 78 percent were considered to be accidental overdoses and most involved opioids such as oxycodone or methadone.
Berry relates that painkillers seem to be accessible to more and more people at younger and younger ages: "Nowadays, more and more people I'm seeing for detox (say they) started using opioids before they starting used anything else ... and at a very young age."
(Source: www.herald-dispatch.com)
Labels: overdose, painkillers, substance abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 9:55 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Prescription Drugs Now the Biggest Cause of Fatal Drug Overdoses
Prescription drugs are now the leading cause of fatal drug overdoses in the United States. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that prescription drugs cause more than 26,000 fatal overdoses each year.
According to statistics recently released by the CDC, the number of overdose deaths from opioid painkillers (a group of drugs that includes morphine, codeine and OxyContin) more than tripled between 1999 and 2006 to 13,800. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians estimates that, each year, about 120,000 Americans go to the emergency room after overdosing on opioid painkillers.
The trend of prescription drug abuse and overdose has upset the historical pattern of overdose deaths. In the past, most overdose deaths involved illegal street narcotics, such as heroin, and occurred in urban areas. The CDC now reports that prescription painkillers have surpassed heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of overdose deaths and that the rate of fatal overdoses is about the same in rural and urban areas. The CDC estimates an overdose rate of 7.8 deaths per 100,000 people in rural areas, compared to 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people in cities.
"The biggest and fastest-growing part of America's drug problem is prescription drug abuse," said Robert DuPont, a former White House drug czar and a former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The statistics are unmistakable."
(Source: USA Today)
According to statistics recently released by the CDC, the number of overdose deaths from opioid painkillers (a group of drugs that includes morphine, codeine and OxyContin) more than tripled between 1999 and 2006 to 13,800. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians estimates that, each year, about 120,000 Americans go to the emergency room after overdosing on opioid painkillers.
The trend of prescription drug abuse and overdose has upset the historical pattern of overdose deaths. In the past, most overdose deaths involved illegal street narcotics, such as heroin, and occurred in urban areas. The CDC now reports that prescription painkillers have surpassed heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of overdose deaths and that the rate of fatal overdoses is about the same in rural and urban areas. The CDC estimates an overdose rate of 7.8 deaths per 100,000 people in rural areas, compared to 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people in cities.
"The biggest and fastest-growing part of America's drug problem is prescription drug abuse," said Robert DuPont, a former White House drug czar and a former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The statistics are unmistakable."
(Source: USA Today)
Labels: opioids, overdose, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 4:26 PM
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