Posted by azdrugrehabctr on August 18, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs | 
A recent Gallup Poll shows that more Americans are concerned with prescription painkiller abuse than heroin abuse. However, heroin abuse is still also a major concern. In fact, prescription drug abuse only narrowly beat out heroin abuse, in the eyes of most Americans. These types of polls are important for law makers because it shows that American residents are feeling the effects of prescription painkiller and heroin abuse at home and want something to be done about it.
The survey also showed that more women than men thought the prescription drug abuse was a problem. It also seems that people who make more money are more likely to view prescription drug abuse as a problem. 30% of those making $36,00 or less agreed that prescription drug abuse was a problem, compared to 47% of people who make between $36,000 and $90,000.
The information gathered from the Gallup poll can be used in a variety of ways. Lawmakers who are advocating for more federal funding that can be used for treatment centers or prevention programs can focus their efforts toward those that agree that prescription drug use is a real issue. As more and more people are affected by the opioid drug problem in the United States, it has become increasingly imperative to create more treatment programs with more beds available to those in need. Often times policy makers and treatment providers have a difficult time obtaining funding for these treatment centers without the help from the Federal government.
Because America is in the middle of a presidential election, some wonder if the information from this Gallup Poll will be used to help shape the platforms of the presidential nominees. While there are many issues to discuss, the opioid epidemic is certainly one of them.
Now that American citizens seem to understand the seriousness of the prescription painkiller and heroin problem in this country, there is a better chance that more effective change is near. And the opioid problem is not the only issue that Americans worry about. The poll also showed that 44% of Americans consider drugs in general as a major problem facing the country, this is up from 2014 when 34% of Americans felt this was an issue.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on July 15, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
The opiate addiction problem is a national crisis that includes rising overdose deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers. As more and more people become addicted to the deadly drug, citizens and public officials are scrambling to find effective solutions for saving more lives. In an effort to combat the growing heroin problem, the President is expected to sign a bill that would allocate more money and services to addicts, their family members and the treatment community.
The bill, which has had a tough road so far, was voted through the Senate on Wednesday. After President Obama makes it official, many people stand to benefit. Lawmakers have included measures to help communities develop treatment and prevention facilities. While the White House has criticized the bill in the past, saying that the funding problems are not solved within the bill, they do agree that it is a good start and doing something is better than making no progress at all.
And the White House is not alone when it comes to the criticisms. “This bill is like a Hollywood movie set – something that appears real on the surface but has no substance and no life behind its façade,” commented Senator Charles Schumer (D) of New York, referring to the lack of substantial financial support.
But, despite some of the negative feelings towards the legislation, the passing of the bill is important because it helps to distinguish addiction as a medical issue. Allocating funds to treatment centers and prevention programs is the first step in treating addiction as a medical problem, rather than a law enforcement issue. In a time of widening gaps between political parties, thankfully this is an issue that legislators can agree needs attention.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on July 6, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
Naloxone is a life-saving drug that has been getting more attention lately due to the number of deaths involving heroin and other opiates. The medication, which is delivered via nasal spray or injection, can reverse an overdose situation on the spot. It has been getting more use lately by first responders, but a group of researchers finds that there is even a greater need to make it more widely available.
A common misconception among most people is that only those who abuse heroin or prescription painkillers will ever be in a situation where they need the life-saving drug to prevent an overdose. However, patients who are prescribed narcotics like OxyContin and Percocet are not immune to accidental overdose. This is especially true for people who take the drug for extended periods of time due to some sort of chronic pain condition.
Experts explain that those who take prescription painkillers may not be aware that having a glass of wine after their dose greatly increases the risk of overdose. Additionally, combining other medications to handle other ailments may also make it more likely to suffer from an overdose.
The research that appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine found a 47% decrease in ER visits among opioid users after six months, and a 63% reduction over one year when patients were also given a prescription for naloxone.
“This study really does show that naloxone has a substantial role to play in managing the opioid epidemic. It’s not the answer to all our problems, but it’s an important tool to prevent mortality,” explained Dr. Phillip Coffin, director of substance use research at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
In addition to educating patients of the risks to life associated with prescription painkillers, it is becoming more necessary to educate family members as well. Oftentimes if someone suffers from an overdose, family members or close friends are the first to find them. Understanding the signs of an overdose can sometimes determine whether the overdose is fatal or not, and having a dose of naloxone available can help save even more lives.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 29, 2016 under Addiction Trends, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
There has been a lot of investigation into the link between prescription drug abuse and heroin abuse. Since prescription painkillers are very similar to heroin as opioids, it is not a stretch to think that an addict who cannot get their hands on pills would turn to heroin eventually. Not only are the drugs similar in the effect that they have on the body, but heroin is generally less expensive and easier to find on the street.
Additionally, some people fear that the efforts being taken to decrease the availability of prescription painkillers among the public have forced addicts to begin using heroin. These factors would seem to come together to prove that heroin abuse is rising because of the prescription painkiller addiction. However, a recent study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), indicates that this belief is not necessarily valid.
“As an alternative explanation, we explore the complexity and reciprocal nature of this relationship and review the pharmacologic basis for heroin us among people who use prescription opioids nonmedically, the patterns of heroin use among people who use prescription opioids nonmedically, the current trends in heroin use and their correlates, and the effects on heroin use of policies aimed at curbing inappropriate prescribing of opioids,” explained the authors of the study.
The study showed that people who abuse prescription painkillers are not as likely to turn to heroin as some might think, though most heroin users did start out with prescription narcotics. Polices that have been enacted to reduce and monitor prescription painkiller abuse should remain in effect, as they don’t cause people to seek out heroin. The less these drugs are available and the more prevention and treatment practices used, the less opiate addicts we will have. The same drive should also be taken when it comes to heroin or any other substance that is abused.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on December 18, 2015 under Addiction Trends, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
In order to effectively change the heroin abuse problem in the United States, researchers, health officials and law enforcement need to understand how the problem has changed throughout the years. Several decades ago it was more common to see heroin abuse in the inner city and among young people. Heroin addicts were usually minorities of the lower class. It was rare to see a heroin addict in their forties or fifties. However, this has all changed over time. Now, most heroin addicts are white, from middle to upper class families and more and more of them are in their fifties and sixties. Why such a big difference from the trends of the past? Most people are pointing to prescription painkillers as the catalyst for such a severe change.
And the change is severe. “According to reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the new generation of heroin users is older, predominantly white and living outside of inner-city urban neighborhoods. And the average age of first heroin use has increased from age 16 to over 23 and from equal numbers of white and nonwhite users to about 90% white,” explained Jeannie Diclementi, a psychologist who treats heroin abusers.
Older generations have a higher rate of being prescribed painkillers to manage chronic and acute pain. As people’s body’s age they are more likely to experience problems that prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin are designed to help. Many physicians prescribe these types of medicines because of the lack of understanding on how addictive these pills actually are. In fact, one of the biggest topics when it comes to prescription painkiller reform is educating doctors on addiction and the signs to watch out for. However, many people wonder if it is too late.
By the time a doctor notices that their patients are exhibiting signs of addiction, the problem has already occurred. This means that even when the painkillers are no longer prescribed, patients are seeking the therapeutic and euphoric effects of the drug. It becomes a quest to acquire the same feeling, a feeling that heroin easily supplies.
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.
