Posted by azdrugrehabctr on December 31, 2014 under Prescription Drugs | 
Medicare’s Part D data provides transparency in finding doctors who prescribe controlled substances most frequently. Medicare has started to use prescribing data to identify potentially problematic doctors. Beginning in mid-2015, Medicare will have the authority to remove doctors from the program if they prescribe in abusive ways.
“It’s a real area of concern for us,” said Shantanu Agrawal, director of the Center for Program Integrity within the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In 2012, 12 of Medicare’s top 20 prescribers of highly addictive Schedule 2 drugs such as oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine and Ritalin faced disciplinary actions by their state medical boards. Some even faced criminal charges related to their medical practices. Because of their risk of abuse and dependence, Schedule 2 drugs require written prescriptions and cannot be refilled.
The data from Pro Publica’s analysis shows the upward trend line for prescriptions of controlled substances: 269 providers wrote at least 3,000 prescriptions for Schedule 2 drugs. Florida led the country with 52 providers, followed by Tennessee with 25.
In September, Medicare sent more than 750 letters to doctors who prescribed far more Schedule 2 drugs compared to others in their medical specialty and state. Officials hope the initiative will cause doctors to examine their prescribing and make changes.
“Simply being an outlier doesn’t establish that you’re doing something wrong,” said Agrawal. “What we are trying to do is give physicians the ability to assess themselves, given their comparative data.”
Medicare’s drug program, known as Part D, covers about 38 million seniors and disabled people and pays for more than one of every four prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. Concerns about oversight of controlled substances date back to at least 2011,when the Government Accountability Office highlighted abuse of opioids in Part D and called on Medicare to take action.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on December 29, 2014 under Addiction Trends |
Suicide is a social problem that is often the end result of a drug addiction. Stimulants are drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine and Adderall. Stimulants are a commonly abused class of drug that researchers have found can be a major catalyst for suicide attempts and suicides. While those suffering from a drug addiction are more likely to think about, attempt and follow through with suicide, this new information isolates stimulants as the most abused drug when it comes to those who are suicidal.
Stimulants provide a different kind of high than opiates like heroin or prescription drugs like Oxycontin. People who ingesting stimulants are often very impulsive and much more susceptible to drastic mood changes, especially after the high has worn off and major depression sets int. These behaviors are what researchers think is the reason why suicide among stimulant addicts is so high.
“Our study addresses a number of important issues that could change practice. While it confirms that drug use itself represents a significant risk for suicidal behavior, it identifies cocaine and amphetamine users as a higher-risk population,” explained one of the researchers. Interestingly enough, an early use for amphetamines included kamikaze pilots – to give them the courage to kill themselves in battle.
While all drugs can be harmful, people who are addicted to cocaine or methamphetamine can lead a particularly lonely life. Since the effects of the drugs wear off so fast, the user is in a constant cycle of craving the drug, oftentimes going to great lengths to obtain the drug, being high and then back to craving the drug again. This cycle leaves little time for anything else in the addict’s life. Family and friends are quickly out of the picture when it comes to battling this type of heavy addiction.
For people who are abusing large amounts of stimulants, paranoia is also a likely side effect. Sometimes the paranoia can be so great that the addict has to completely remove themselves from society because of the distrust and panic that sets in after continual usage.
Researchers are hoping that this information will lead to more specialized treatment for cocaine and methamphetamine addicts. Currently there are very few treatment facilities that specialize in these types of addictions.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on December 16, 2014 under Synthetic Drugs |
After Lance Dyer’s son passed away from smoking synthetic marijuana, he knew he had to do something to help other people suffering from this addiction and hopefully prevent any more deaths. Dyer decided to donate his dog to the local police station to be trained in sniffing out synthetic drugs like kind his son had passed away from.
The springer spaniel, named Dakota, is the first dog to ever be trained in sniffing out synthetic marijuana. Dyer hopes that other police departments will follow their lead and train more dogs to aid in the discovery and seizure of these dangerous drugs. In addition to donating the dog to the police department, Dyer also set up a foundation to bring about more awareness to the synthetic drug problem in our country.
“Our foundation recognizes the importance of education and our youth and getting them to realize how serious these synthetics are. And the dog Dakota is a great spokesperson. This will give the sheriff’s Department a way to detect and the District Attorney’s Office a way to prosecute,” he commented.
While many police departments have canines that are capable of sniffing out drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, none have a dog that is able to alert police officers to the presence of synthetic drugs. As the amount of synthetic drugs in our country continues to grow, it has become more important for police officers to adapt and out-think drug manufacturers and dealers. Hopefully canines like Dakota will help with this task.
Synthetic drugs are man-made substances that are designed to be similar to other street drugs but are slightly different chemically. These drugs are sold in gas stations and convenience stores disguised as potpourri, plant food and other packages labeled as “not for human consumption.” Due to their easy accessibility, more and more children are able to purchase and ingest these drugs.
Continued efforts like this to adapt to the changing drug climate are necessary to protecting young people across the country.
