Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 17, 2015 under Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs | 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a startling figure – more than 25 percent of all women who could become pregnant in the near future are taking prescription painkillers. This means that potential mothers could already be addicted to pills like OxyContin, Percocet or Vicodin. Since the withdrawal symptoms and cravings are so intense for these medications, mothers are more likely to abuse them while they are pregnant, exposing their unborn children to powerful and dangerous drugs before they ever take a breath of air.
While these drugs are meant for those suffering from chronic or acute pain, and only supposed to be provided for by a physician, the appetite for these pills is so intense that addicts have gotten around current restrictions. Sometimes a person with a valid pain issue and a valid prescription will sell their pills on the black market, prices can be as high as $100 per pill. Other times an addict will fake an injury or get copies of phony X-rays or a fake MRI. Once presented to a physician they can then acquire the pills necessary to fuel their drug habit. Other times doctors begin writing prescriptions to addicts who have no need for the heroin-like painkillers – essentially becoming drug dealers.
However a person gets a hold of these pills, it is clear that future generations are poised to feel the effects of this epidemic. Mothers who are dependent on or abuse narcotics or any other opiate-based painkiller put their unborn children at risk for birth defects and physical withdrawal pains from the drug.
Children who receive drugs prenatally have to go through a period of withdrawal upon being born. This means that they have become physically dependent to the drug and now that they are no longer receiving the drug through their mother they have to overcome severe withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from narcotic painkillers include; vomiting, diarrhea, body aches and insomnia. These symptoms are often too much for grown adults to handle, let alone day-old infants.
This study is important because many pregnancies are not planned. Oftentimes when a person is leading a life that involves regular drug use they are unaware of how their actions can affect themselves and others.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 5, 2015 under Addiction Trends, Opiate Abuse, Synthetic Drugs |
Sometimes people in the addiction treatment and prevention fields believe there should be less law enforcement intervention. However, in some cases law enforcement officers wind up joining the ranks and spend time helping educate people about drugs and addiction.
For instance, retired policy Sergeant, Bruce R. Talbot is taking the experience that he gained while working on the police force and imparting what he knows to parents, educators and young people. Talbot understands that that many young people start abusing prescription painkillers and then graduate to heroin. Talbot believes that in order to address the increasing amount of people dying from heroin overdoses the link between prescription drug abuse and heroin drug abuse must be broken.
Heroin used to be a drug that was abused by long-time addicts and stayed mainly within city limits. Now, law enforcement is seeing heroin at high schools in the suburbs. They get called to heroin overdoses in quiet neighborhoods and wind up arresting people for heroin possession in areas that have never reported heroin problems in the past.
Talbot explained that heroin is increasing in purity and is cheaper than ever. In the 1970’s, when heroin experienced a growth in popularity among older males, $10 would buy an addict four doses of heroin with a 3% purity rate. Nowadays, that same $10 buys an addict 12 doses of heroin with a 63% purity rate.
Talbot insists that the biggest problem that has come about with time is that drugs are much more potent than they ever were before. These more dangerous and powerful drugs are creating addicts at an alarming rate, and more importantly they are killing users.
Even synthetic drugs like bath salts and synthetic marijuana are more potent than the street drugs they are replacing. Bath salts provides a similar high to cocaine or methamphetamine, however the drug is so powerful that it can cause psychotic breaks after just one use. Spice, or synthetic marijuana, is meant to provide the same high that marijuana does, however it has been known to induce extreme paranoia and auditory and visual hallucinations.
“Young people have no idea how powerful and dangerous these new synthetic drugs [are],” explained Talbot. He encourages parents to talk with their children about the dangers of drug use. Talking to children about drugs illustrates that parents know what kind of temptations and pressure young adults are facing.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on January 22, 2015 under Opiate Abuse |
In this day and age it has become quite clear that no one is immune to the pulls of a drug addiction. One FBI agent proved this when he admitted to being addicted to heroin and stealing evidence from cases to fund his habit. In the wake of this confession, the agency is taking a hard look at their offices and the protocol for securing evidence, all in an effort to avoid future breaches in security, like the one agent Matthew Lowry managed for fourteen months while on the job.
When heroin is seized by the FBI it is immediately weighed, documented, sealed and delivered to an evidence room where the drugs sit until trial. Lowry was able to siphon heroin from these evidence bags because he was on the heroin task force. This means that he was given access to heroin on an almost daily basis.
Lowry’s scheme was allegedly rather intricate and involved much deception. It was reported that oftentimes Lowry would go into the evidence room and take heroin that was part of cases that were already closed. This ensured that the agents working on that case would not need to access the drugs for court purposes. When Lowry was unable to take heroin from closed cases he would take heroin from open cases under the guise that he was taking it to the lab to be tested. Lowry would take the drugs home and consume much of it, replacing what he consumed with laxatives or creatine. In order to keep his habit, Lowry had to forge other agent’s names and signatures so that the drugs would not be traced back to him.
Lowry has since admitted to his crime and has spurned an internal investigation into how the FBI deals with evidence and who has access to guns and drugs. Since the investigation has started the FBI revealed that they have “found that every one of the nation’s field offices had problems tracking gun and drug evidence and that in some cases, drugs disappeared for months without notice”.
Because of Lowry’s transgressions, 150 defendants in drug cases throughout the country may potentially go free, lawyers finding it difficult to prosecute without the evidence.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on September 17, 2014 under Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
An alarming trend has started to develop where children are being poisoned by buprenorphine, which a drug commonly prescribed to treat opiate addiction. Suboxone is a form of buprenorphine and is usually prescribed to heroin or opiate addicts to help them get over the painful withdrawal symptoms associated with the drug use. Suboxone comes in the form of a dissolvable strip that is placed under the tongue. Since the medication contains a synthetic opiate, it can be very dangerous for children.
The study shows that Suboxone was the most common drug stated during emergency room visits for children aged six and younger. This means that not only are these children gaining access to this harmful drug, but it also means that they are surrounded by someone or a group of people who are or have been abusing opiates. In its pure state, buprenorphine is actually much more powerful than morphine.
The study showed that for every 100,000 people who are prescribed buprenorphine, 200 children will be hospitalized from the medication. Almost 800 children were hospitalized last year for buprenorphine poisoning, with some of them not making it out alive.
Some people wonder if the reason why these children are gaining access to the drug is because the parents or guardians are irresponsible. In order to be in a situation where one needs Suboxone, the person has to be dependent on heroin or prescription painkillers in the first place. There can be a carelessness associated with the behavior.
Thankfully, the Federal Government wasted no time in ordering that new childproof packaging be developed for medicine like Suboxone. It is believed that this new packaging will help reduce the number of children from ingesting the drug. Other buprenorphine makers are also marketing individually wrapped tablets. It is thought that these individually wrapped tablets can reduce the harm associated with accidental overdoses by children. However, regardless of how the Suboxone is packaged, it is vital that it is kept far out of reach of children.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on August 5, 2014 under Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
Prescription drug abuse is a widespread epidemic that is sweeping the nation. Most addicts report that they obtain prescription painkillers by searching through medicine cabinets and stealing anything they find. Many people will have a prescription for these drugs, use what they need and then forget that they have the drugs in their home. In order to handle this problem, the Arizona State University Police Department and other law enforcement agencies throughout the Phoenix area are working together to bring awareness to the necessity of disposing of any unused prescriptions.
Ten new drug collection containers will be placed throughout Phoenix police departments. “ASU’S Police Department is committed to the safety of the university community, and this service is available for any citizen to use. Dropping off unused prescription drugs for safe disposal by police ensures that dangerous substances won’t be used for illicit purposes,” explained Michael Thompson of the ASU Police Department.
Getting these harmful and highly addictive drugs off the street is a high priority for police and policymakers. Phoenix is a city that is filled with college students and children who do not need to fall victim to a prescription drug abuse problem. New statistics show that most heroin addicts started their opiate addictions by consuming prescription pain medication. The hope is that by reducing the availability of prescription painkillers, lawmakers are effectively preventing people from becoming addicted to heroin in the future.
Making sure that residents of the community have a safe place to drop off unused medications is not a new thing; but the more communities that implement this service the more difficult it is for addicts to get their hands on the drugs. The hope is that more and more communities throughout Arizona will follow Phoenix’s lead and establish drop off sites within their own communities. While Arizona State University’s container has yet to be installed, it will be soon. Until the container is installed, anyone can dispose of their unused medications in other containers throughout the city. Arizona State University has also created an interactive map on their website where people can locate the nearest drop off site.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on April 10, 2014 under Opiate Abuse |
A hand-held device, called Evzio, recently received approval from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and is expected to be available to the public this summer. The device is similar to an EpiPen used to stop allergic reactions, and is intended to be a life-saving treatment when administered during an overdose.
In a news release following approval, the FDA recommends that family members or caregivers become familiar with the instructions for use before administering Evzio. When the device is turned on, it gives verbal operating instructions to the user, similar to automated defibrillators that hang in public buildings.
The device is designed to deliver a single dose of the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone. The medication works by blocking the ability of heroin or opioid painkillers to attach to brain cells. The FDA notes that because naloxone may note work as long as opioids, repeat doses may be needed. The news release also states that users should seek immediate emergency medical care after administering the antidote.
“This is a big deal, and I hope it gets wide attention,” said Dr. Carl R. Sullivan III, Director of the Addictions Program at West Virginia University. “It’s pretty simple: Having these things in the hands of people around drug addicts just makes sense because you’re going to prevent unnecessary mortality.”
FDA officials say that they speedily approved the device in just 15 weeks because it is critical to prevent deaths by overdose, which have been on the rise despite the agency’s recent efforts. In the past year, the FDA has recommended tightening prescription practices and the changing of labeling requirements for opioid prescription drugs, although many experts believe these are just baby steps on the way to tackling the bigger issues.
“They’re plucking the low-lying fruit, but the hard things haven’t been done,” said Dr. Katz of Tufts University. FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, agrees with Dr. Katz’s suggestion to require doctors who prescribe highly addictive opioids to get training in how to do it properly. Such training is currently voluntary.
To address the concerns like those of Dr. Katz, Dr. Hamburg emphasized that “tackling the opioid epidemic is a high priority for the FDA,” according to the release. The FDA has made a point to be outspoken about it’s efforts to fight opioid abuse since receiving criticism last fall when it approved the powerful hydrocodone drug, Zohydro, against the advice of the expert panel.
Even though some are concerned that the existence of an overdose antidote will encourage drug users to be even more cavalier with their drug use, many are hopeful that the increased availability of the Evzio device will result in benefits that significantly outweigh the risks.
