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)

Labels: laws, overdose, prescription-drug-abuse

This week, in a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe, Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray acknowledged the seriousness of prescription drug abuse in Massachusetts and highlighted the administration's current efforts to tackle the issue. Lt. Governor Murray admitted that the state's current Prescription Monitoring Program is ineffective.

According to a statement by the Public Health Council: "The Prescription Monitoring Program was established in 1992 by joint regulation between the Board of Pharmacy and the Department of Public Health. The Program collects prescription records for Schedule II drugs, dispensed at community, clinic and outpatient pharmacies and hospitals. The data is reviewed by the Department and a Medical Review Group, which is comprised of physicians, dentists, other practitioners and pharmacists."

Lt. Governor Murray stated that the administration has been working to overhaul this program, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and the Governor's Interagency Council on Substance Abuse and Prevention. Murray also indicated that recommendations from the OxyContin and Heroin Commission, as well as input from legislators, public safety officials, providers, and community representatives will be incorporated into improvements to the monitoring system.

(Sources: www.boston.com; www.mass.gov)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse

According to a Pentagon health survey released this week, about one in four U.S. soldiers admit to abusing a prescription drug within the year prior to the survey. The survey, which included more than 28,500 U.S. troops, indicated that about 20 percent of Marines had abused a prescription drug within the last year.

In both cases, pain relievers were the most frequently abused type of prescription drug as well as the most abused drug in the military. Pain relievers are used illicitly about three times more frequently than marijuana or amphetamines, the next most-abused substances. Between 2005 and 2008, painkiller abuse among soldiers soared. Reported use within the 30 days prior to the survey increased from 4 percent in 2005 to 13 percent in 2008. Reported use within the previous year increased from 10 percent in 2005 to 22 percent in 2008.

The survey also indicates an alarming rate of binge drinking, especially among Marines. About 60 percent of Marines reported binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row at least once per week.

Experts believe that the study's findings indicate the immense toll that fighting wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003 has had on troops. Many troops have been required to serve in multiple combat deployments within the past seven years.

Brigadier General Colleen McGuire, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force, commented: "We are aware that more prescription drugs are being used today for pain management and behavioral health issues. These areas of substance abuse along with increased use of alcohol concern us."

(Source: www.usatoday.com)

Labels: binge-drinking, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

In an exclusive interview with ABC News this week, Janet Jackson confirmed that the Jackson family knew about Michael's addiction to painkillers and that they even staged several interventions over the years without success.

Janet said that she reached out to her brother on several occasions: "I did. Of course, that's what you do. Those are the things that you do when you love someone. You can't just let them continue on that way. And we did a few times. We weren't very successful."

Janet also admitted that she believed her brother was in denial about his addiction. Michael's autopsy report found that the singer had lethal amounts of the painkiller propofol -- a powerful sedative used almost exclusively in hospital operating rooms -- along with a number of other drugs in his system at the time of his death. His death has been ruled a homicide.

(Source: www.adbnews.go.com)

Labels: drug-abuse, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

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)

Labels: opioids, overdose, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

This week, California State Attorney General Jerry Brown unveiled a new secure website to track prescription drug use. The database is designed to assist doctors and law enforcement officials battle prescription drug abuse.

The website represents a significant upgrade to the state's previous tracking system, which required doctors to request information about individual patients by phone, fax or e-mail. Website users will have instant access to prescriptions filled for schedule II, III and IV drugs -- including powerful painkillers like morphine, hydrocodone and codeine.

According to Brown, 38 states have some kind of tracking system in place and, of those, 25 have Internet-based resources. California is the 26th and largest state to introduce a web-based tracking system for prescription medications.

(Source: www.mercurynews.com)

Labels: codeine, morphine, prescription-drug-abuse

Law enforcement authorities in Bristol, Conn., have seen an increase in local heroin use. They attribute the rise to painkiller addicts who turn to heroin when their prescriptions run out.

Bristol Police Detective Sergeant Chris Lennon of the narcotics division says that heroin is the second most prevalent drug in the area, after marijuana. Lennon believes that heroin use has also seen a resurgence because the drug is highly addictive, and -- in recent months -- has become easily accessible and cheap. Lennon reports that a dose of heroin can cost between $5 and $10, and has begun coming into the area via nearby cities such as Hartford and Waterbury.

In the past, heroin users became addicted through experimenting with heroin. Now, Lennon states, many of the heroin addicts his unit encounters are painkiller addicts who lost access to their drugs of choice. The link between the two is not surprising considering that OxyContin, one of the most potent and popular painkillers used for nonmedical purposes, is a chemical cousin of heroin.

(Source: www.bristolpress.com)

Labels: heroin, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

Fewer people abused prescription drugs in 2008 than in 2007, according to new data released by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The data comes from SAMHSA's annual 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the results of which were published this week.

According to the survey results, approximately 6.2 million Americans (2.5 percent) ages 12 years and older reported abusing prescription drugs during the month prior to the survey. That represents a decrease from 2007, when 2.8 percent of the population reported past-month abuse of prescription drugs. In addition, reports of past-month methamphetamine use declined dramatically, from 529,000 in 2007 to 314,000 in 2008.

Gil Kerlikowske, director of national drug control policy, credits last year's federally funded anti-drug campaign with helping to turn the tide. "If people perceive alcohol, drugs and tobacco as being risky, they are more inclined not to do it," he said.

Despite Kerlikowske's optimism, however, overall illicit drug use held steady from 2007 to 2008. Approximately 8 percent of Americans, or 20.1 million, reported past-month use of an illicit drug in 2008, the same as in 2007.

(Source: www.usatoday.com)

Labels: drugs, prescription-drug-abuse

Women are up to 48 percent more likely than men to be prescribed a narcotic, anti-anxiety or other potentially abusable drug, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

CASA found that approximately 7.5 million girls and women misuse or abuse prescription drugs each year, and that women who use sedatives, anti-anxiety drugs or hypnotics are almost twice as likely as men to become addicted to these drug. CASA also found that teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to use prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

The effects of this trend are real. For example, in Park County, Wyo., approximately 90 percent of suicide attempts in the past year involved prescription drugs, alcohol or both. County prosecuting attorney Jonathan W. Davis stated that women with children seem to gravitate toward prescription medications as their drugs of choice.

"You can't justify meth, but people taking prescription drugs tend not to think it's a problem. It doesn't eat up your face and rot your teeth," he said. "But it certainly is a problem. It's easy to obtain and highly addictive. It's not just the typical drug users abusing. It crosses all strata and all ages."

(Source: www.codyenterprise.com)

Labels: addiction, prescription-drug-abuse, sedatives

Celebrity deaths attributed to overdoses of prescription drugs have been piling up over the last couple of years. Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson are just a few of the famous people to die in connection with the misuse of prescription medications.

These highly publicized deaths point to a disturbing trend among average Americans. According to government data, fatal overdoses from prescription pain killers more than doubled between 2000 and 2005. In 2000, approximately 3,994 people died from prescription pain killer-related overdoses, compared to 8,541 in 2005.

According to available data, the prescription drug abuse epidemic is eclipsing similar epidemics from the recent past. At the height of the crack cocaine crisis in the 1980s, there were approximately 500,000 crack users. In 2004, amidst the meth epidemic, experts estimated that there were approximately 600,000 meth users. By comparison, experts estimate that 3.8 million Americans were abusing prescription drugs in 2000, and that number grew to 7 million by 2007.

(Source: www.chron.com)

Labels: drug-abuse, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

The world's largest drug maker, Pfizer, Inc., goes on trial next week to face claims that its epilepsy drug Neurontin increases the risk of suicide. This case is the first of an estimated 1,200 similar cases pending against the drug company concerning this particular medication.

This case centers on the 2004 suicide of 39-year-old Susan Bulger, who took the medication before hanging herself. Pfizer maintains that Neurontin was not responsible for Ms. Bulger's actions, and points to her history of mental illness and drug abuse as more likely culprits.

Robert Rabin, a law professor at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., commented on the case for an article by Bloomberg: "If she was taking other drugs, there's a question if this particular drug contributed to the suicide."

Ms. Bulger's family claims that Pfizer's marketing of Neurontin for off-label uses (uses not specifically described in the drug's official labeling) influenced Ms. Bulger to take the drug. She used Neurontin, which is approved for treating epilepsy, to help with mood swings and arthritis pain. However, current law forbids companies from marketing medications for off-label uses.

(Source: www.bloomberg.com)

Labels: Neurontin, prescription-drug-abuse

Authorities and legislators in Florida are grappling with the state's snowballing problem with illicit pain pill trafficking and abuse. Some experts posit that south Florida's high concentration of pain clinics and doctors may be the foundation of the problem. Other experts point to Florida's lag in developing sufficient prescription monitoring procedures in comparison to other states in the region.

With the introduction of OxyContin to Appalachia in the 1990s, several states reacted quickly, developing procedures for tracking the writing and filling of OxyContin and other similar medications. However, Florida, with an entrenched focus on battling cocaine use, failed to keep pace.

The growth of the problem is clear: Fatal overdoses involving oxycodone, the main component in brand-name pain killers OxyContin, Roxicet and Percocet, increased 20 percent from 2007 to 2008 in Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to state authorities. Last year, the two counties had 221 oxycodone-related overdose deaths. Last month, Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation aimed at regulating pain clinics more effectively.

(Source: www.sun-sentinel.com)

Labels: drug-abuse, OxyContin, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in Ohio, according to a report released this week by the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network. The report, called "Surveillance of Drug Trends in the State of Ohio," noted an increase in the abuse of prescription medication such as Vicodin and OxyContin, and a slight decrease in the use of cocaine and methamphetamines.

The report includes data from June 2008 to January 2009, collected in eight metropolitan areas. Report authors interviewed drug users, treatment professionals, police and crime lab officials to obtain information useful to the development of addiction prevention, treatment and recovery programs.

(Source: www.limiohio.com)

Labels: addiction, OxyContin, prescription-drug-abuse, recovery, Vicodin

Recently, several communities in North Boston have implemented collection programs for unused prescription drugs. In response to a nationwide jump in teen recreational use of prescription drugs, several communities in the area decided to provide drug disposal sites where residents could safely drop off their unused prescriptions.

According to public health officials, setting up collection spots for outdated prescriptions is an effective method to help keep the drugs from ending up in the hands of teenagers.

As part of the collection effort, several postal service mail boxes have been refurbished and placed in the lobbies of local police stations as collection receptacles. Residents can drop unused prescriptions in these boxes 24 hours a day, seven days per week. The drug take-back programs are a collaboration among law enforcement, healthcare, public health, education, and community agencies.

Joan Whitney, director of substance abuse prevention in Gloucester, commented on the trend of prescription drug use: "The national statistics are astounding. The misuse of prescription drugs is the fastest growing category of misuse nationally, with teens admitting to abusing prescription drugs. We need to limit access and provide awareness."

(Source: wickedlocal.com)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse, substance abuse

According to addiction experts, many people overuse or abuse prescription pain relievers because they mistakenly believe that prescription drugs are safer than street drugs like heroin, crack, or methamphetamines.

According to data from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), non-medical use of painkillers resulted in approximately 8,500 deaths in 2005, and overdose deaths involving prescription pain medications jumped by about 114 percent between 2001 and 2005.

According to the ONDCP, prescription drug abuse is most common among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25. However, experts warn, people of all ages have the misconception that prescription drugs are not that dangerous.

Dr. Marvin Seppala, the chief medical officer at Hazelden, a drug and alcohol treatment center, comments: "I think people of all ages don't take medication as seriously as street drugs. There's sort of a naive belief they're safer. The truth is pain medications are in the same exact class as heroin, morphine -- they're very addictive."

In a 2007 study conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 15.5 percent of teenagers reported abusing prescription drugs and a significant number reported obtaining prescription drugs from a friend or family member, from a household medicine cabinet, or at a party.

Experts also warn that older adults are vulnerable to prescription drug addiction. Dr. Steven Juergens, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington and a private addiction specialist in Bellevue, Wash., comments, "Often what happens is someone experiences discomfort, anxiety, or pain. They start being treated with medicine, and need more. They're caught in this hell of using the drugs illicitly, not seeing it as a problem. It takes a while to unravel that."

(Source: cnn.com)

Labels: heroin, methamphetamines, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

Prescription drug abuse is increasing at an alarming rate in Indiana, according to a new state report released last week. Eric Wright, director of the Indiana University Center for Health Policy, which wrote the report, commented: "It's probably the most important emerging drug-abuse trend in Indiana, as well as in the nation."

According to the report, which was compiled from pubic data sources, approximately 7.6 percent of Indiana residents have abused prescription drugs in the past year, compared to a national rate of 6.2 percent. Of all age groups, 18- to 25-year-olds have the highest rate of prescription drug abuse in the past year, at approximately 16 percent. The national average for the same age group is about 12 percent.

(Source: www.indystar.com)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse

A former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Sam Rayburn, may be nearing the end of a long struggle with painkiller addiction, according to an article appearing in the Philadelphia Inquirer this week.

Rayburn first began using painkillers from 2003 to 2006 while he was still playing football professionally, to help with his recovery from playing injuries. Rayburn often sought out painkillers on his own to deal with injuries he didn't want his coach or trainers to worry or know about. However, his use of prescription substances quickly grew into an addiction.

As his habit got out of control, he started taking more drastic measures. He admits stealing a doctor's prescription pad to forge prescriptions for Percocet and Lortab. He began taking medications in excessive amounts. Rayburn recalls, "Especially toward the end, when I was taking obscene amounts, I was hiding it from everybody -- I was even hiding it from myself."

On March 19, 2009, two local associates of Rayburn's tried to fill prescriptions that Rayburn had forged. The men were both arrested and charged with felony counts of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by forgery. Rayburn admitted responsibility for the incident, and said he requested the prescriptions. Rayburn was also arrested and spent 45 days in a drug rehabilitation facility.

After reaching a high of 100 pills per day earlier this year, he has been clean for 80 days.

Labels: addiction, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse

In response to ongoing concerns about the recreational, non-medical use of prescription drugs, authorities in Broward and Palm Beach counties, Fla., have organized a new drug disposal program.

"Operation Medicine Cabinet" will provide adults in the two counties with a safe and secure means to dispose of unused prescription substances -- a safer alternative than letting the medications sit in medicine cabinets within easy access of curious teens.

Recent studies have shown that a significant percentage of youth who use prescription medications for non-medical/recreational purposes obtain the substances from their own homes, or those of family members or friends.

Prescription drug abuse is a particular problem in Florida. According to Palm Beach County spokeswoman Teri Barbera, prescription drug overdoses killed 300 people in Palm Beach County last year; only motor vehicle accidents claimed more lives.

Participants in Operation Medicine Cabinet will be able to drop off their unused prescriptions at several area drug stores, and in return they will receive a $5 gift card.

(Source: www.examiner.com)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse

The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has developed a new set of online tools for physicians to use when screening patients for tobacco, alcohol, illicit drug and nonmedical prescription drug use.

One online screening tool is designed for use during routine office visits. The tool provides a set of questions designed to determine the frequency of use of an array of substances, including tobacco, alcohol, sedatives and prescription opioids.

NIDA Director Nora Volkow, MD, commented on the need for such tools, "Many patients do not discuss drug use with their physicians, and do not receive treatment even when their drug abuse escalates ... [these tools enable the physician to be] the first line of defense against substance abuse and addiction."

(Source: www.ama-assn.org)

Labels: addiction, alcohol, prescription-drug-abuse, tobacco

On Dec. 16, 2007, 23-year-old Cyrus Moinzadeh overdosed on OxyContin and died. Moinzadeh was smart (spoke three languages) and well-liked, but spent time with a group of young people who frequently abused the drug.

Of Cyrus' five closest friends from high school, three have died from drug overdoses. OxyContin, a chemical relative of heroin, is frequently prescribed as painkiller for back pain, cancer pain, bone fractures, and other severe injuries. Many teenagers obtain the drug over the Internet from unscrupulous companies in Canada and Mexico.

OxyContin is produced as a time-release tablet, so non-medical users will often smash up the pills to snort them or melt them to smoke (they will place the pills on foil and apply heat from underneath). Scott Henderson of the San Diego Police Department narcotics division advises parents to be aware of their teenagers' activities.

Henderson recommends looking on teens' Facebook and MySpace pages, because that's commonly where they exchange information about getting drugs. Henderson also said to be on the lookout for the tinfoil used to smoke it since Oxy leaves black charred streaks. "If you're running out of tin foil and you don't make a lot of casseroles, I'm telling you right now something is amiss."

(Source: www.delmartimes.com)

Labels: heroin, OxyContin, prescription-drug-abuse

Two national surveys show that prescription drug abuse among youth is continuing at high rates. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, found that from 2002 to 2004, 6.7 percent of teens ages 12-17 misused prescription drugs. In addition, the most recent Monitoring the Future national youth survey (conducted by the Michigan Institute) indicates that seven out of 10 drugs abused by high school seniors in 2007 were prescribed or purchased over the counter. According to experts, many teens have the misconception that prescribed drugs are safer than street drugs, such as ecstasy, heroin, or cocaine.
(Source: www.msnbcnews.com)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse

A European global watchdog group released startling findings recently, claiming the abuse of prescription drugs worldwide will soon surpass illicit drug abuse. As recently as 2006, prescription drug use had eclipsed illicit drug use in parts of Europe, Africa, and South Asia. In the United States, abuse of painkillers, stimulants, tranquilizers and other prescription medications has gone beyond "practically all illicit drugs with the exception of cannabis," said the global watchdog group.

Narcotics Control Board President Philip O. Emafo stated, "Gains over the past years in international drug control may be seriously undermined by this ominous development if it remains unchecked."

Prescription drug use has spread globally and created a dangerous new trade in counterfeit prescription substances, many of them potent enough to kill uninformed or overly enthusiastic users. The World Health Organization claims up to 50 percent of all drugs taken in developing countries are believed to be counterfeit.

"The very high potency of some of the synthetic narcotic drugs available as prescription drugs presents, in fact, a higher overdose risk than the abuse of illicit drugs," Emafo said. The group sited as an example North America, where widespread abuse of prescription drugs, including the narcotic fentanyl - 80 times as potent as heroin - has been blamed for a sharp increase in deaths.

(Source: www.msnbc.msn.com)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse

Staten Island is an island county located off the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City. The island is one of NYC's five boroughs and home to approximately half a million residents. Last week, Staten Island authorities arrested 23 young people in connection with the distribution and abuse of prescription narcotics.

Authorities believe that the makeshift network has been responsible for placing nearly 21,000 prescription painkillers in the hands of teens and young adults. Even more disturbing, however, is the fact that authorities believe the latest wave of arrests only represents the fabled "tip of the iceberg." Like their peers across the United States, teens and young adults on Staten Island are experimenting with potent prescription drugs like Xanax, OxyContin, and Vicodin, often with tragic results. According to a study by the Columbia University center, prescription opioid abuse among 12- to 17-year-olds has increased by 542 percent since 1992.

The group of young adults arrested last week was organized around a ringleader, who kept track of when members would fill prescriptions. The group utilized a stolen prescription pad to forge 108 prescriptions for oxycodone at 14 different pharmacies. A single prescription provides as many as 360 pills. (Source: www.silive.com)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse

Recently, six drugstores in the area of Spokane, Washington, have been robbed. Authorities believe that these crimes were perpetrated by individuals addicted to prescription medications. In each case of robbery, the thieves took OxyCodone, OxyContin, and Vicodin - all prescription painkillers. Authorities describe the break-ins as an epidemic.

A former prescription painkiller addict, interviewed anonymously by a local news team, said that she first took Vicodin and Loratab as prescriptions after giving birth to her first child. After three months of taking the drugs, however, when her prescription ran out, the terrible withdrawal symptoms began. "Julie" described her withdrawal symptoms and how she purchased the medications illegally for two years:

"You don't wanna move, hot and cold, hurting muscles, leg twitching. ... I called some people, friends, what can I do, and they were like well we can find you this. ... You'd give 'em the money they'd give you the pills. ... I was on the phone hours a day ... it consumes your entire day. ... It all starts with somebody getting a prescription, it really does."

(Source: www.kxly.com)

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse