socioeconomic boundaries. A publicized example of abuse can be seen through an on-air statement by radio commenta- tor Rush Limbaugh on Friday, October 10, 2003 when he said “I am addicted to prescription pain medication. I first started taking painkillers [some] years ago when my doctor prescribed them to treat post- surgical pain following spinal surgery… Over the past several years I have tried to break my dependence on pain pills and, in fact, twice checked myself into medical facilities in an atempt to do so.” Te recent deaths of actor Heath Ledger,
Anna Nicole Smith and singer Whitney Houston have further demonstrated the seri- ousness of the problem. NIH points out that emergency room visits due to prescription drug abuse are on the rise. Since 1990, men- tions of tranquilizers by emergency depart- ments have increased by 170 percent and a staggering 450 percent increase for prescrip- tion pain relievers. More than 200,000 visits to emergency rooms around the country each year are because of prescription drug abuse.
Is Availability an Issue? Te latest National Survey on Drug Use
and Health shows that over 70 percent of people who abused prescription pain reliev- ers got them from friends or relatives, while approximately 20 percent got them from a drug dealer, stranger or over the internet. Just because drugs can be prescribed by
healthcare professionals and dispensed by pharmacists, doesn’t make them safe. In fact, it’s the perception of safety that makes prescription drug abuse so dangerous. By survey, almost 50 percent of teens believe that prescription drugs are much safer than illegal street drugs. Nearly half the teens abusing pre- scription drugs are taking painkillers and 60 percent to 70 percent say that home medicine cabinets are their source of drugs. Harmful in their own right, when abused,
prescription drugs are becoming gateway drugs for many school-aged youths. Accord- ing to the National Center on Addiction and
www.datia.org
Prescriptions Dispensed by U.S. Retail Pharmacies (1991–2010)
250 ■ Opioid ■ Stimulants 210 200 202 201 192 180 169 158 150 151 144 139 131 120 109 100 100 96 91 86 80 78 76 50 0
45 39 36 33 30 29 27 24 24 21 20 19 17 16 15 13 10 7 6 4 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91
SOURCE: SDI’s Vector One: National (VONA)
Substance Abuse at Columbia University, teens who abuse prescription drugs are twice as likely than teens who do not abuse pre- scription drugs to use alcohol, five times more likely to use marijuana, and 12 to 20 times more likely to use illegal street drugs like heroin, ecstasy and cocaine. Te addiction is so strong that armed robberies of pharmacies have occurred where the robber demanded only OxyContin and not cash.
The Reality of Opioid Pain Relievers Drugs are essentially poisons. Whether
they are helpful or hurtful is simply deter- mined by the amount consumed. Te effect of prescription drugs vary from person to per- son but in general, a lesser amount taken acts as a stimulant and speeds you up. A greater amount acts as a sedative and slows you down. A large amount, considered abuse of
datia focus 11
Number of Prescription in Millions
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