The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a report showing data that the 1,185 deaths in the state in 2009 were caused by oxycodone. These figures represent a 26 percent increase from the prior year and a 249 percent increase from 2005.

The deaths are divided according to counties within the state. Data shows that the hardest hit counties last year were Pinellas and Pasco, with the total number of deaths hitting 197. This district also claims the lead for the number of methadone deaths at 117 and deaths as a result of hydrocodone at 45.

Oxycodone is not the only prescription drug abused in the state and drug deaths overall as a result of such activities hit 2,488 last year. While this figure was climbing, the number of deaths as a result of illegal drugs was declining. Heroin deaths, for instance, have decreased by 20 percent and cocaine deaths by a little more than 18 percent.

This growing trend of prescription drug deaths appears to have no end in sight, forcing lawmakers to take a hard look at what needs to change in the system. The state recently passed a law to establish a prescription drug monitoring program which would collect information on drugs dispensed in the state. Will it be enough to turn the tide for so many Floridians at risk?
 

CNN.com reports that a criminal complaint filed earlier Monday alleged that Murray "did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson."

Murray turned himself in shortly before 4 p.m. at a branch courthouse near Los Angeles International Airport.

Members of Jackson’s family, including his parents, Joe and Katherine and three of his brothers, had already arrived at the courthouse when Murray turned himself in.Asked for his reaction to the charge, brother Jermaine Jackson said, "Not enough."

The involuntary manslaughter charge means that Murray caused Jackson’s death by acting "without due caution and circumspection." If convicted, Murray would face a maximum four-year prison sentence, according to prosecutors. Deputy District Attorney David Walgren will lead the prosecution.

Murray traveled to Los Angeles at the end of January from his home in Houston, Texas, in expectation of possible charges, his lawyer said. He used part of his time last week to visit the pop star’s resting place in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Murray, a cardiologist, was hired as Jackson’s personal physician last spring as the singer prepared for comeback concerts in London, England.

The doctor told Los Angeles police that he was with Jackson at his $100,000-a-month rented Holmby Hills mansion through the early morning hours of June 25, 2009, in an effort to help the pop star fall asleep, according to a police affidavit.

He administered sleep aids, and after Jackson finally began sleeping in the late morning hours, Murray said, he left the bedroom for "about two minutes maximum," the affidavit says. "Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing," it says.

The doctor stayed with Jackson as an ambulance rushed him to UCLA Medical Center.
Efforts at CPR proved fruitless, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Jackson’s death a homicide, resulting from a combination of drugs, primarily propofol and lorazepam.

The coroner’s statement said Jackson died from "acute propofol intoxication," but there were "other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect." Lorazepam and two other drugs Murray said he used are benzodiazepines.

The doctor told investigators he had given Jackson three anti-anxiety drugs to help him sleep in the hours before he stopped breathing, a police affidavit said.
Murray had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks at the time of the singer’s death. The doctor told investigators he gave Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol, the generic name for Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip.

The doctor told police he was worried that Jackson was becoming addicted to the drug and tried to wean him off it.

During the two nights before Jackson’s death, Murray said, he put together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping Jackson sleep.

TheBostonChannel.com reports that days before Michael Jackson’s death—which was caused by a lethal amount of propofol—the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists warned hospitals to restrict access to the drug.

"Those providers who have issues with insomnia, many times they think that by giving themselves a little bit of propofol, it puts them into a deep enough sleep, and they wake up refreshed," said Steve Alves, the vice president of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and an associate clinical professor with Northeastern University.

But even providers who use it on a daily basis are unclear how potent it can be. A recent study found that 30 percent of physicians who abused propofol actually died. Last year, Dr. Brent Cambron was found dead in a storage closet at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, surrounded by a half-filled vial of propofol and other drugs.

"It’s a very stressful environment that we work in and unfortunately these are some of the avenues that people take," said Alves.

Dr. Michael Fitzsimons, an anesthesiologist with Massachusetts General Hospital, says the hospital is well aware of that fact that between 1 and 2 percent of anesthesia providers are abusing a wide variety of potent drugs, including propofol. It’s believed to be the same percentage among all health care providers.

"It’s easy access. We are one of the few physicians who obtain the drugs ourselves," he said. "We’ve instituted random drug testing of attending physicians, nurse anesthetists, residents, and fellows in 2003 in an attempt to decrease the incidence within our department. Our greatest fear is the death of an individual. And that is what we are trying to prevent," Fitzsimons said.

It’s finals week. But somehow that week extends itself into the prior week’s weekend, probably farther. It’s Saturday morning. Waking up early to ensure a table with coveted plug access on my favorite floor of the library is already losing its allure. Good news is my backpack is already packed from last night’s studying…but it needs to be restocked for today’s studying agenda. Textbooks? Check. Laptop? Check. Pens, pencils, notebooks, calculator, wallet, computer charger? Check. Adderall? Swallow.

Adderall is a legally approved amphetamine classified as having the highest potential for dependence and or abuse. It is a common treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is also prescribed to treat narcolepsy. As defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Adderall is produced by combining neutral sulfate salts of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine with dextro isomer of amphetamine saccharate and d, I-amphetamine asparate monohydrate. In a national study by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) conducted in 2007, full- time college students ages 18-22 were twice as likely to use Adderall nonmedically than their same age counterparts. The same study identified that full time, Adderall- using college students, when compared to their same age counterparts who did not use Adderall, were using cocaine at a rate of 28.9% versus 3.6%, nonmedical tranquilizers at a rate of 24.5% versus 3%, and nonmedical pain relievers at a rate of 44.9% versus 8.7%.

It is easy to understand Adderall’s popularity with full- time college students. As a study aide, it’s reportedly the best. My fellow collegians describe it to me as the drug that provides “tunnel focus,” the desire to read and highlight like never before, and a true competitor against the distraction of Facebook. It is inexpensive and available (often offered to me on the library front steps), and a dear friend of the grade point average. But in order to seriously weigh the pros and cons of Adderrall use, it needs to be taken out of the context of a study aid and looked at for what it really is, a prescription drug.

Like any other prescription drug abuse, nonmedical use of Adderall can lead to unintended results. The National Institute of Health’s (NIH) current medication information website states that only in rare cases would anyone prescribed Adderall for ADHD take more than 40mg a day. It also reports that patients who increased their dosage to many levels beyond recommended have experienced extreme fatigue and mental depression, insomnia, irritability, hyperactivity, personality changes, various skin diseases, and psychosis (frequently clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia). Its label warns misuse can cause sudden death and serious cardiovascular adverse events. Whether you view Adderall as a temporary means to an “A” end or feel you struggle with prescription drug abuse, if you are not legitimately prescribed Adderall for a medical condition (or even if you are), it is important to recognize it as a powerful amphetamine that has a powerful amphetamine’s effects. Whatever you decide about your Adderall use, make your decision an informed one.

After a year of steady abuse of Valium, Xanax, and Vicodin, Lyon realized that he needed to quit after being given morphine following a surgical procedure. Because of the tolerance he had built up to opiate painkillers, the morphine did nothing to make his pain go away. Lyon then quit the drugs for six months but later resumed his habit. After a friend intervened, he finally quit for good, but he still suffers from memory loss as a result of his addiction.

In Pill Head, Lyon explains that in the summer of 2003, he and his co-workers at Jane magazine began receiving emails offering Valium, Xanax, and Vicodin with “no prescription needed.” After repeatedly deleting them, Lyon started thinking about the emails more and more. His own physician refused to prescribe him a sleeping pill for a flight he took in the weeks following 9/11, so Lyon assumed it couldn’t really be that easy to obtain medications like these.

“Strictly in the name of journalistic curiosity,” Lyon convinced his editor to let him try to buy some of these pills online. He wrote, “I wanted to see if it was just a scam or if it really was that simple to get controlled substances without a doctor’s prescription.” The story was approved for the pop culture section of the magazine, and he was given a $600 drug budget.

Lyon explains that the Xanax and Valium were easy—he just had to fill out an online form explaining why he needed the drugs (he wrote that he had a fear of flying and had to travel often for work). Within 48 hours the drugs appeared on his desk, and he had spent $312.

For the Vicodin, Lyon was told that a doctor would call him for a consultation. He was also supposed to provide a phone number for his primary physician. Lyon gave a fake name for the doctor and his real work number. The “doctor” called the next morning, and Lyon said he just had his appendix removed and didn’t have insurance, and that the company’s Vicodin prices seemed affordable.

Then the “doctor” asked if he wanted 30, 60, or 90 pills. Lyon said 90, of course, and was charged $223. The drugs arrived the next day. Lyon wrote a quick article about how “ridiculously easy” it was for him to order the pills online and took the bottles home. Then his editor frantically called him to ask what he was going to do with the pills, worried that he would start using them.

“I spent the entire train ride out here imagining you face down on the floor somewhere,” she said. “I can just see the headlines now: ‘Magazine kills editor.’ It’s the last thing we need.”

Lyon promised her he would flush them down the toilet, but he didn’t. “I have a problem,” Lyon wrote. “When someone tells me not to do something I will immediately go out and do it.” When he hung up with his boss, he pulled out the bottles and stared at them.

“The labels were pathetically generic and looked like they’d been created on a typewriter,” he wrote. “The originating pharmacies were located in Florida, Arizona, and Colorado, and the addresses felt strangely cold: for some reason the phrase “Florida Drive” just screams unmarked storefront with the blinds closed shut, located in a partially deserted strip mall, an empty soda can rattling by, pushed by the wind.”

He studied the huge Vicodin bottle and the compacted horse pills inside, and then he took three. “That night I drifted in and out of sleep, but not in an unpleasant, restless way,
he wrote. “It was more like a constant waking dream, and when the alarm went off the next morning I still felt a little high, but not at all hungover. That was all it took to seal the deal—I’d discovered my perfect drug.”

Excerpts are from Pill Head: The Secret Life of a Painkiller Addict by Joshua Lyon. Copyright 2009 Joshua Lyon. Published by Hyperion. All Rights Reserved.

After surviving a severe car accident two years ago, Sharon underwent a series of surgeries to repair broken bones in her arms and torso. To reduce pain during her long recovery process, her doctor prescribed a moderate dose of the opioid painkiller oxycodone.

The medicine helped Sharon tremendously, but after the prescription expired, she noticed the pain returning. Medical tests showed no further need for surgery, and, because of oxycodone’s notoriety for being addictive, her doctor was hesitant to renew her prescription at the same dose. Instead, he wrote her a prescription for a reduced dose, planning on gradually weaning her off. Unfortunately, the pain did not subside. It seemed to Sharon like only the original dose would end her misery.

Increasingly desperate for relief and frustrated with her doctor’s refusal to authorize a higher dose, Sharon visited another physician who specialized in pain. She told him about her accident and how oxycodone had been the only real help to her in the past. However, when he asked if she was currently taking any medications, she said no. It seemed to her like an innocent lie—just a little omission of information that would finally get her the comfort she desired.

The doctor agreed to write her a prescription for her original dose of oxycodone, but over time, even that didn’t completely eliminate the pain. Before she knew it, Sharon was in another doctor’s office, telling the same “innocent” lie that had worked before. She found herself addicted to the drug, with multiple prescriptions from different doctors. She had been “doctor shopping” to feed the dependency and now, in addition to the physical and mental terrors of her addiction, Sharon was in legal trouble.

Stories like Sharon’s are not uncommon. Whenever someone visits multiple doctors in an attempt to receive different prescriptions for the same drug, that person is said to be doctor shopping. Since there are laws governing the number of prescriptions that a patient can have written and filled, pulling off the stunt requires illicit behavior on the part of the patient, doctor, or pharmacist. The patient must deceive the doctors and pharmacists into thinking they are each the only ones prescribing and distributing the drug, or the doctor (or pharmacist) may be complicit in accommodating the patient’s wishes.

Addiction is often a factor in cases of doctor shopping. When a person becomes physically tolerant to a particular drug, they seek higher doses for the same effect. But when the desired dose exceeds the limits of customary practice, the patient may resort to doctor shopping as a last-ditch means of satisfaction.

Prescription drugs that are commonly involved with doctor shopping include opiate painkillers (like OxyContin and Vicodin) and sedatives (like Xanax and Ambien).

In 2006, DEA Deputy Assistant Administrator Joseph Rannazzisi identified doctor shopping as a growing problem in the United States. He also described the issue of prescription drug abuse as an “epidemic.” In response to the growing concern surrounding prescription drug dependency, legislators are toughening up on doctor shopping, and it is now illegal in some states.

About Expiration Dates

The expiration date on medication means that it is safe to use (by the person for whom it was prescribed, and then only taken as prescribed) until the expiration date. This assumes, however, that the medicine is stored under the proper conditions of light, temperature and moisture. If it isn’t stored correctly, in direct sunlight, left in the glove compartment of your car, out in the freezing cold, etc., it will likely be ineffective before the expiration date.

Most medicines have expiration dates of two years after the drugs are manufactured.

What Happens When You Take Expired Medications

It depends on the medication, why you are taking it (for what condition), how long it’s been expired, and other factors. Experts disagree on just how much harm can occur from taking expired medications.

In some ways, taking expired medications is like eating expired or tainted food. Let’s take some examples. If you eat tainted seafood, you can become dangerously ill from toxins that develop in product that’s not kept sufficiently cooled. If you eat meat past its expiration date, you may become very sick. If you consume any food products after their expiration date, you are just taking a risk.

The same holds true for expired medications, only more so. Taking expired medicine may actually make your situation or condition worse. Say you were prescribed medicine for a condition but didn’t use it all. You found it in the back of your medicine cabinet and figured you could take it safely now. Wrong! It could prompt some worse symptoms than the reason you took it in the first place.

If you rely on certain medications to stay alive, such as medicine for heart conditions, taking expired drugs may mean that you’re not getting enough of the medicine to keep you alive. In other words, it may have lost its potency, and your very life could be at stake.

According to medical experts, tetracycline-type antibiotics and some seizure medications can cause serious toxicity if taken beyond the expiration date. Drugs in liquid form are even less stable than tablets, powders, capsules and pills. Other drugs are affected by age, including birth control pills which, if taken after their expiration date, may result in an unexpected pregnancy.

On the other hand, some anti-viral drugs used to prevent and treat influenza (like Symmetrel and Flumadine), may last for years past their expiration date, according to some dissenting reports. Stored under proper conditions, some drugs maintain 90 percent of their effectiveness for up to 5 years following expiration.

But who wants to, or is willing to, take such a high risk?

Expired Medications Particularly Harmful to Children

Every poison control center has countless stories of children getting their hands on prescription drugs the parents have thrown away after their expiration date. The children take the medicines and can become poisoned, suffer a fall, or have other serious injuries as a result.

What to Do With Expired Medication

It’s simple: get rid of them. But do so in the correct manner. First, take the medicine out of the original container. Next, mix the drug with some substance that’s undesirable (meaning no one will dig it out and try to take it), like kitty litter. Place the drug/undesirable mixture in a sealed bag or waterproof container. Then throw it out in the trash. You should also contact your local poison control center for any updates on proper prescription drug disposal in your area

Another suggestion is to contact your pharmacist. They may have information on pharmaceutical take-back locations for unused, unneeded or expired medications.

What If You Have Questions?

If you’re unsure whether or not it’s safe to take a prescribed medication past its expiration date, or if the expiration date is illegible, contact the physician that originally prescribed the medication. If that doctor isn’t available, contact your regular physician, describe the situation and the medication, and inquire whether you should take it or toss it.

Of course, if medicines are stored improperly, they will degrade faster. If you see signs of disintegration, or it develops an acidic smell, throw it out immediately.

Tips to Be Safe

1. Once a month, go through all your medications to check on the expiration dates. Toss out (or correctly dispose of) any that have expired.

2. Keep all medicines in a locked cabinet.

3. Never leave medicine out in the sunlight, heat or extreme cold.

4. Don’t take a chance on expired medications – ever.

5. Post your doctor’s phone number, or that of the hospital, where you can quickly get it if you need it.

Klonopin is a very popular prescription drug used to treat anxiety, panic disorders, and seizures. Commonly known by its generic name clonazepam, klonopin is part of a group of psychoactive drugs in the benzodiazepine family. Benzodiazepine drugs are some of the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States in part because of their tranquilizing effect. When taken correctly and as prescribed, benzodiazepine drugs are highly effective in rapidly reversing agitation and are often used for the short-term treatment of severe anxiety. However, recent years have shown that prescription drug abuse is on the rise, and klonopin is commonly abused.

Many reports rank benzodiazepines in the top five of the most abused substances in the United States. The increasing number of people turning to prescription drugs as a way to “get high” is no surprise as more and more middle- to upper-class adolescents are turning to their parents’ medicine cabinets as a drug source. Data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 36 million U.S. residents aged 12 and older have abused prescription drugs in their lifetime. Additionally, 2.7 million teens aged 12-17 and 6.9 million individuals between the ages 18-25 have abused prescription drugs at least once.

Teens and those in their early twenties are not the only age groups susceptible to prescription drug abuse; individuals 65 years old and over also have a high likelihood of abusing drugs. It is estimated that 12-15% of elderly patients who seek medical attention are addicted to prescription medication.

Why are abusers turning to klonopin as their drug of choice? Illicitly, klonopin (or “K-pin” as it is called on the street) is usually used as a secondary drug in conjunction with other prescription drugs or as a complement to alcohol. Some say that when taken alone, the drug has the same effect as alcohol. In addition to enhancing the primary drug’s effect, klonopin’s sedative nature helps prevent the primary drug’s side effects. Klonopin is also generally easy to find and is cheap. Lastly, the drug is hard to screen for and easily goes undetected.

Because klonopin is a sedative and has a calming nature, many people have the misconception that the drug is harmless. Misuse of klonopin, especially when the drug is taken in high doses, can bring about serious consequences such as mental confusion, impaired motor functions, dizziness, and coma. Death rarely occurs when the drug is taken alone, but since it is quite often taken with other drugs, the mixture of substances can be deadly.

Use of benzodiazepine drugs should be closely monitored by a physician and a definitive medical history should be taken prior to prescribing the medication. To prevent prescription drug abuse in your home, keep your legitimate prescriptions somewhere other than the medicine cabinet. If you or a loved one may be addicted to klonopin or any prescription drug, do not hesitate to contact your primary care physician. Help is available.

Vicodin is one of the most widely prescribed drugs used to relieve moderate to severe pain. A combination of hydrocodone bitrate (a synthetic codeine) and acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol®), Vicodin is usually found in tablet form and is taken on an as-needed, short-term basis as prescribed by one’s doctor. This medication works by interacting with receptors in the brain and the spinal chord, essentially halting nerve impulses that indicate pain throughout the body. Once this communication ceases, the user experiences a euphoric feeling, which relaxes the body and relieves pain.

As with most medications, Vicodin has side effects related to its usage. Typical side effects from short-term usage include constipation, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, and stomach pain. However, due to the efficacy of this pain reliever, abuse and misuse of this drug often occurs. It is reported that individuals 60 years old and over are more likely to be addicted to prescription drugs such as Vicodin. Prescription drug abuse is also on the rise among 12-25 year olds in part because many people have the misconception that prescription drugs are safer than illicit street drugs. Prescription drugs are also much easier to obtain.

Prolonged use or abuse of Vicodin brings with it serious consequences. Liver disease, blurred vision, and hallucinations are several common byproducts of misuse. Physical tolerance is also a major concern one must be aware of prior to taking Vicodin. After continued usage, increased doses are often needed in order to achieve the same pain relief. By increasing the dosage, the likelihood of psychological and physical dependency also increases.

Although most prescription drug users don’t plan on getting hooked on Vicodin, the easy access to the drug, at least in the beginning, and the positive effect it produces often overtake an individual’s state of mind. One common sign of addiction is the continued use of the drug even after the pain has passed. This may cause the addict to secretly visit several doctors in order to receive multiple prescriptions for the drug, or to purchase it illegally on the Internet. Mood and behavior changes such as increased anxiety and hostility can also occur. A sudden lack of money or the failure to maintain financial obligations are additional signs that may indicate drug abuse. Becoming secluded and withdrawing from society are other indicators to look out for.

Overcoming Vicodin addiction is a long and often painful process. Acknowledging the addiction is the first and most important step one must make on the way to recovery. Once the decision has been made to fight the addiction, the withdrawal period occurs and with it comes the detoxification. The addict’s body must relearn how to survive without the drug, which puts tremendous strain on the body, so it is recommended to start a medically supervised detox program and not attempt to quit cold turkey. Follow-up visits at a rehab treatment center or with a therapist are imperative for the addict upon detox.

Medical Uses
For patients with panic disorder, Xanax is FDA-approved for short-term treatment (no longer than eight weeks). Physicians warn that tolerance may occur after using the drug for more than eight weeks, which can lead to dependence. Similarly, patients with severe acute anxiety should take Xanax for 2 to 4 weeks. The drug is sometimes prescribed for anxiety with associated depression, but the efficacy is questionable. Using Xanax in acute or short-term treatment may have some antidepressant properties, but evidence has shown that up to a third of long-term users of the drug may actually develop depression.

Withdrawal Symptoms
Many patients become addicted to Xanax after their bodies build up a tolerance to the drug, requiring larger and larger doses. When the drug is stopped in these patients, many of them experience withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, dry mouth, loss of appetite, memory loss, headache, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, chills, lethargy, fatigue, mood swings, and heart palpitations. Less common reactions such as hallucinations, seizures, or fever can also occur.

Recreational Use
Xanax has a high potential for recreational use, and the combination of Xanax and other drugs such as alcohol (especially when the Xanax is injected) can cause a serious and potentially fatal overdose. Xanax is also sometimes used with other recreational drugs to relieve the panic that can occur with taking LSD, and also as a sleep aid for use during the “come-down” period of stimulants. It can also be used with marijuana or heroin to accentuate the relaxing effect.

A government study conducted by SAMHSA found that benzodiazepines like Xanax are, recreationally, the most commonly used prescription drug. The study also found that 35% of drug-related visits to emergency rooms involved benzodiazepines.

Overdose
It isn’t uncommon for habitual Xanax users to increase their dosage repeatedly to the point of overdosing. In addition, many Xanax addicts will combine other drugs or alcohol with Xanax, often resulting in a trip to the emergency room. Some addicts crush the drug and mix it with a liquid to then inject it into their veins, which is incredibly dangerous as Xanax does not fully dissolve in water as other drugs do.

A study in New Zealand found that alprazolam is almost eight times more likely to result in death in overdose than other sedative drugs. Overdosing on this drug depresses the central nervous system and can result in somnolence (difficulty staying awake), mental confusion, hypotension, impaired motor functions, fainting, respiratory depression, coma, and death. About 50% of the cases of alprazolam-related deaths were attributed to a combination of alprazolam and another drug, most often cocaine and methadone.

Treatment
Patients who are addicted to Xanax should be weaned off the drug gradually while under medical care, as severe reactions can occur from withdrawing suddenly. Many patients have successfully recovered from Xanax addiction in residential treatment programs such as Promises Treatment Centers. Xanax addiction can take away the most important things in your life—your family, your friends, your happiness, and your health—so contact a treatment center today to get your life back on track.