Prescription Drug Addiction
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Florida’s Pill Mills: a Source of Legal Drug Trade?
They say that poverty leads to crime. For Florida, a state with record foreclosure rates after the recent recession, loss of the American dream may only be the tip of the iceberg. There, legislators are battling the upspring of literally hundreds of pain clinics that are popping up all over South Florida. These clinics are doling out record doses of oxycodone and other pain management drugs that are drawing in crowds from afar. In Broward County, the problem has gotten so bad that the pain clinics outnumber the golden arches of McDonalds.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Generation Rx
Are prescription drugs the new drug of choice by today’s youth? The Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) seems to think so. It is deeming the youth of today as ‘Generation Rx’ based on findings from a study it conducted in 2005.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Stopping Phony Drugs: California’s E-Pedigree Prescription Drug Laws
Counterfeit prescription drugs are an emerging threat to global health and commerce. It is estimated that up to thirty percent of the world’s supply of prescription drugs are actually fake. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 1 million people die each year from ingesting fake malaria drugs. California has been pushing to implement an e-pedigree law that would make it more difficult for fake drugs to enter the supply chain.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Unintentional Overdoses Major Cause of Death
Many people begin to use painkillers prescribed by a doctor to relieve an injury or medical condition. Many prescription painkillers, such as methadone and OxyContin, are very easily addictive, and as the patient builds up a tolerance, they put their lives in danger.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Prescribing Lower Potency Opioids May Help Reduce Dependency
A new study suggests that patients being prescribed higher potencies of opioid medications may be at greater risk of overdose and related death than those being prescribed lower potencies. Patients who have back pain, headache, or a prior history of substance abuse and have been prescribed long-term opioid therapy are more likely to end up in the emergency department or need other types of medical care for opioid withdrawal, overdose, intoxication, or other alcohol- and drug-related problems.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
North Carolina Sheriffs Seek Access to Prescription Drug User List
One of the major problems law enforcement officials face when trying to combat prescription drug addiction is controlling the supply of, or access to, addictive prescription drugs. When targeting supplies of illicit drugs, such as heroin or cocaine, police focus on incarcerating drug dealers, manufacturers, and smugglers in order to reduce the amount of drug available for sale to “retail” purchasers. Some suppliers of prescription drug addicts, however, are legitimate doctors and pharmacies that likely do not know that they are helping someone abuse the drugs they prescribe and distribute. Further, because the most widely abused prescription drugs are painkillers, and painkillers are an essential part of the modern medical regimen, eliminating wide-spread access to the “drug of choice” of prescription drug addicts will likely never happen. As a result, law enforcement officers must focus on the demand side, by preventing individual addicts from being able to access prescription drugs through legitimate means.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Massachusetts Acquires New Tracking System to Combat Prescription Drug Abuse
Last week, health officials from Massachusetts’ Public Health Council unanimously approved the implementation of a new state detection system that will help physicians prevent prescription drug addicts from doctor shopping.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Some with Prescription Drug Addiction Find Unique Ways to Get Their Pills
Before I knew better, whenever I envisioned an “addict”, I saw in my head some scrawny guy with greasy hair trying to slyly slip a wad of money to his dealer in order to get a little plastic baggie of white powder in return. In other words, a “junkie”. Today’s addict, however, is your lawyer, doctor, accountant, stockbroker and soccer mom too. And while people from all walks of life still dabble in the illegal stuff — snort coke, do meth, and smoke pot, an emerging epidemic involves taking medication that is perfectly legal with the appropriate prescription.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Growing Prescription Drug Problem in Florida Prompts New Monitoring Program
There is an ongoing problem in Florida, the state is the leading destination for the illicit procurement of prescription drugs – for which most consumers do not have a prescription. The question that law and policy makers continue to ask is whether or not a monitoring program can thwart the problem.
Posted under Prescription Drug Addiction
Jackson’s Doctor Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter
Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the pop star’s death last summer.
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