Posted by azdrugrehabctr on October 1, 2014 under Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article
One of the scariest things about the prescription drug abuse problem in our country is the number of children who have access to the deadly drugs. More and more teens are reporting illicit use of painkillers and other prescription drugs and some wonder how they are obtaining the pills. Many teens do not have to look far in order to get their hands on prescription painkillers, as they are most often found in medicine cabinets of family members or friends. One teen decided to investigate how common prescription drug use is among his peers.
Stowe’s film “Out of Reach” takes a look at classmates and how many of them are taking prescription drugs, as well as how easy it is for them to obtain the pills. “What we found out was, we’d go into the restroom and students right before a test would go into a stall, pop an Adderall, sometimes snort it, and trade more hard drugs like Oxycontin, hydrocodone, and just take them as if it was vitamin C,” he said.
While abusing prescription drugs may be openly done amongst their peers, many teens can hide the fact that they are taking the drugs from their parents and teachers. This may be because most parents are not sure what they are supposed to be watching out for when it comes to prescription drug abuse. Educating parents on what signs to look for is important when dealing with teen drug abuse. When a person is taking prescription painkillers they are oftentimes sleepy, their pupils are dilated, and they tend not to have an appetite and may exhibit weight loss.
Cyrus Stowe hopes that his documentary will not only educate parents on the reality of prescription drug abuse, but also shed some light on the secret behavior of many of his peers. While many families are dealing with the tragedy of losing a child to a prescription drug abuse problem, many more families are still willing to look the other way when it comes to talking to their children about the deadly addiction.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on September 20, 2014 under Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article
Robin Thicke has had a roller coaster of a year. His song “Blurred Lines” was a huge success. The fan and media attention that he received from the hit single was enough to jump-start a lackluster career, however there have been some serious problems along the way.
Several months ago Thicke’s wife, Paula Patton, left the singer after almost twenty years of marriage. He has recently come out to say that the separation was because of his behavior and that he has also been under the influence of drugs and alcohol. In addition to his substance abuse problems, Robin Thicke is also being sued by the family of Marvin Gaye, claiming that “Blurred Lines” is a copy of “Got to Give It Up”.
During his recent deposition, Thicke admitted that he was so heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol throughout the making of the song and the press afterwards that he doesn’t remember much. He admits to abusing prescription painkillers like Vicodin and Norco. In fact, Thicke is on the record during several interviews claiming that he helped write “Blurred Lines”, however he now says that it was mostly Pharrell Williams and that he just wanted to share in the credit of having written such a hit song.
Prescription drug abuse is a problem that is being felt throughout the country. Shockingly, children are the most affected by the prescription drug abuse trend. More and more high school children are coming into contact with prescription drugs and the peer pressure to try pills like Vicodin and Norcos is continuing to mount. When singers like Robin Thicke also abuse prescription painkillers what message does it send to our children?
Even with the concentrated efforts of law enforcement, policy makers, health care providers, educators and parents, fighting prescription drug abuse among teens is a losing battle when Hollywood openly admits to abusing the same drugs.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on September 17, 2014 under Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article
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.
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 25, 2014 under Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article
Why is it important that unused prescriptions be properly disposed of?
Unwanted, unused, and unmonitored medications can be dangerous when left around the house. These drugs are susceptible to misuse by a teenager or accidental use by a young child. Many who have children or grandchildren in their house are especially concerned about the security of their medications. Others are worried that medications that are flushed or otherwise improperly disposed of will end up damaging the environment and the water supply.
Should I be concerned about the teens in my family taking my medications?
It’s better to be safe than sorry. Prescription drug abuse has been declared an epidemic in the United States. Experts say teens and many adults think prescription drugs are safer than other illicit drugs because the pills were prescribed by a physician and came from a pharmacy, but prescription pills can be just as deadly as illegal drugs.
A 2010 study found that more than 50% of teenagers who took prescription drugs said they obtained their pills from the family’s medicine cabinet, according to the DEA. “More than 70% of people abusing prescription pain relievers got them through friends or a relative,” said R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Do these take-back events really make a difference?
Two years ago, the DEA held the first National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, where drugs could be turned in anonymously to law-enforcement offices across the country. Six other take-back days have occurred since then, and the DEA reports that more than 1,000 tons of prescription medications have been collected for disposal.
According to the trends, each take-back event is gaining more traction, leading to more collections each time. Any pill handed over to authorities is one fewer pill on the street.
Where can I go to take back my unused medications?
The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a potent new painkiller scheduled to become available to patients this month. As part of the hydrocodone-based family of opioid analgesics, Zohydro, a high-dose pain pill is expected to be a dangerous new factor in the growing prescription abuse epidemic in the U.S.
A league of more than 40 health care, consumer and addiction treatment groups is urging the FDA to revoke its approval of the prescription. In a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, addiction experts echoed concerns surrounding the risks tied to the drug.
Dr. Andrew Kolodny, president of the advocacy group Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing has a strong opinion on this subject. “It’s a whopping dose of hydrocodone packed in an easy-to-crush capsule,” said the doctor. “It will kill people as soon as it’s released.”
That is not the only letter of concern in the FDA’s mailbox. Other groups petitioning the FDA to revoke their approval include members of the congress and 29 state attorneys general, among others. The common fear among these groups is the high-dose and its potential to amplify already-rising overdose numbers.
Prescription opioid deaths more than quadrupled since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There were 4,030 deaths involving the drugs in 1999, compared with 16,651 in 2010.
Zohydro is reported to be approximately five times more potent than what is available now. Both the FDA and Zohydro’s maker, Zogenix, claim that the drug’s benefits outweigh the risks.
Zohydro is intended to be prescribed solely for patients dealing with severe pain, according to advocates for the drug. Dr. Brad Galer, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Zogenix, stated that the company will focus its commercial efforts on a small group of doctors with good experience prescribing opioids, so that only appropriate chronic pain patients would receive the drug.
Despite these intentions, many are expecting the narrow patient group to eventually expand to patients with less serious pain issues. If Zohydro follows in the footsteps of its opioid-containing predecessors, the drug will become more and more available to those who are likely to abuse it. It seems not everyone is comfortable with the FDA’s “risk-benefit” way of thinking.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 26, 2014 under Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article
According to a new government report, the Department of Defense needs to do more to prevent prescription drug abuse in the military. A large issue lies in the lack of uniform standards for dealing with this issue. Some military branches are tougher than others when it comes to monitoring and preventing abuse and misuse of prescription pain pills among recovering service members.
In the report conducted by the department’s Inspector General’s office, investigators found that the Army has an aggressive policy that monitors a soldier’s prescriptions which allow them to receive four different drugs, including one controlled substance. The Navy has a similar policy, but starts the monitoring at five controlled substances in some locales.
In so-called Wounded Warrior units, patients are supposed to receive the most focused care, so it is troubling that the report cites dozens of overdose deaths in these units during the war years. The report strongly urges the Pentagon to be more aggressive in addressing every potential loose end that allows these overdoses to happen.
One of the Inspector General’s recommendations endorses wider accessibility to a “take-back” program that allows pharmacies to take back unused medication from troops. Currently, these programs are conducted only twice a year under the mandate of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
The “take-back” programs are designed to give soldiers a safe and accountable method to dispose of medications that are no longer needed for treatment. Practicing this method keeps unused pills out of the hands of soldiers who may abuse the medication and it also prevents soldiers from exceeding the doses needed to treat their ailments.
According to responses cited in the report, corrective steps are being taken to guard against wounded troops “doctor shopping” and using the same prescription to obtain more pills, potentially for abuse. The report also stated that in 2010 – the last data cited – nearly a thousand soldiers were hospitalized for drug overdoses. In 2011, a Pentagon health survey found that one in four troops use pain medication.
Hopefully the corrective steps being taken will be enough to decrease the risk of overdose for the high-risk patient population of wounded warriors in the U.S. military.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on November 12, 2013 under Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article
On October 26th, the DEA held its prescription drug take-back day. Although this was a nationwide event, the Phoenix DEA office reported that there were 90 collection sites around the state of Arizona, which netted more than ten thousand pounds of left over prescription drugs.
With over five tons collected that day, the total collected for the state over the past few years has been 29 tons (58,000 pounds). Prescription drug take-back programs have effectively discarded several hundred thousand tons of unused and unwanted medications. The idea is to help get them off the street and out of medicine cabinets to help prevent that type of substance abuse.
According to the DEA’s release, “Disposal of unwanted, unused or expired drugs is one of four strategies for reducing prescription drug abuse and diversion laid out in Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis. The other strategies include education of health care providers, patients, parents and youth; enhancing and encouraging the establishment of prescription drug monitoring programs in all the states; and increased enforcement to address doctor shopping and pill mills.”
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On October 26th, the DEA held its prescription drug take-back day. Although this was a nationwide event, the Phoenix DEA office reported that there were 90 collection sites around the state of Arizona, which netted more than ten thousand pounds of left over prescription drugs.