AHS Views

According to a report by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, the states with the highest percentage of its citizens addicted to prescription drugs are Tennessee and West Virginia. West Virginia just took over the number one spot, and drug rehab centers will probably be inundated with people needing addiction help. 

We’ve talked about “West Virginia and OxyContin” in this blog in the past, as well as “Tennessee and OxyContin.” You could also talk about “Florida and OxyContin.” in fact, you could pretty much relate OxyContin to any state in the country.

You can also say “Kids and OxyContin.”

One young lady named Jenninfer, from yet another state, Ohio, landed in drug detox at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in January 2007. Neither Jennifer’s parents nor teachers knew she needed any addiction help. Jennifer’s parents were lucky; Jennifer came forward and told them she was addicted to OxyContin.

Jennifer’s not the only kid in trouble in Ohio - 50 other children also received drug detox in Children’s Hospital in 2007. “Ohio and OxyContin.”

Fifty kids from Columbus going through drug detox should be an eye opener for parents. Keep your prescription drugs out of the reach of your kids. And get them the addiction help services they need if they’ve already discovered them.

Every day there are news stories about OxyContin addiction. Jennifer is 16 years old. She’s finally getting the addiction help she needs, but she had already been taking drugs for three years by the time she got treatment.

She started with marijuana at 13, moved onto alcohol but didn’t like it, then tried Vicodin and Percocet. Before long she was crushing and snorting OxyContin before school, during school, after school, in the evening and at night.

Where did she get the drugs? Occasionally she had to pay for them - that’s expensive, up to $50 a pill - but usually she was given them by her boyfriend or other friends in school. They probably got them from their parents’ medicine cabinets. God knows how many of those kids need addiction help. And there’s a good chance some of the parents need help, too.

Jennifer parents and teachers knew nothing about it. Her teachers thought she was tired or just not paying attention. She finally confessed to her father who got her addiction help, and she’s now clean.

Don’t be too quick to buy ‘I’m just tired’ or any other excuse or explanation your kids might give you for behavior that doesn’t seem quite right. Check it out very thoroughly - if a 16-year-old is constantly tired, there’s something wrong. They might be sick - take them to a doctor and find out - or they might be taking drugs.

Jennifer is one of the lucky ones. Her next day could have been her last - it’s happened to many other kids. Don’t take it lightly, don’t brush it off, don’t buy excuses. Find out what’s going on, and get your kids the addiction help services they need.

Finally, it’s being recognized that older adults - retirees - have serious drug problems. A new Florida drug rehab center has opened in West Palm Beach that caters to older adults. And the addicts appreciate it: “We have different health issues, different emotional issues, different grief issues,” Patrick Gallagher, a 66-year-old who was treated for a dual addiction to pain medication and alcohol, recently told reporters. Gallagher is just one of many older adults getting addiction help in similar centers around the U.S.

One of the problems with people of that age being addicted is that they often hide it from those around them. And for some, there is no one around them to speak of. They are disassociated from friends and family and feel they have no one to turn to. Consequently, they rarely get the addiction help they need.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) predicts that the problems will continue: According to a recent report, SAMHSA foresees 4.4 million older substance abusers by 2020, compared with 1.7 million in 2001. A representaive said the numbers are “likely to swamp the current system.”

In fact, the current system seems to be swamped already. If the 22 million Americans needing addiction help stepped forward to get it, the vast majority would be out of luck.

If you know of an older adult, pay special attention to their alcohol and drug habits. And if they have a problem, help them get the addiction help services they need.

Older adults

There are more young African Americans in jail than there are Whites or Hispanics, and a large percentage are there because of drug crimes. Drug addiction help could have saved many of them from jail time. One report states that 37% of African Americans born in 2001 can expect to spend time in jail. If they received drug education, it may save them from needing addiction help, and jail. It would help if athletes and musicians stopped referring to their own drug use - it leads to more drug use and subsequent addiction help and jail time for their admirers.

In case you missed it, Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks admitted to pot use. The NBA has already said there is nothing they can do. Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, said it would be handled privately by the team. If you believe that young people look up to athletes like Mr. Howard, you have wonder what he was thinking during his interview. I wonder how many more young people will need drug addiction help because of this strange admission by Mr. Howard.

In the music industry, references to drug use in rap songs have increased 600% since the 70’s. This doesn’t provide the leadership young people need. Dr. Dre’s infamous references to drug use in the early nineties, for example, do have an effect.

These two examples may be small issues relative to other problems in society, but where Dr. Dre helps to lay the ground work in the early 90’s, Josh Howard helps lay the ground work today.

Maybe if someone showed Mr. Howard some of the statistics above he would try to be a better example for the young people of today. Marijuana is not a healthy choice, for some it leads to the need for addiction help services.

Laconia, New Hampshire, where eight people died last year from methadone, is playing hardball. The man who sold the methadone to one of the victims has been sentenced to a minimum of 15 years - which could turn into 40. He will be able to get out after 10 years if he gets addiction help through a substance abuse program.

While it’s good to see someone being held responsible for this tragedy, I can’t help but think of the all the hundreds or thousands of people dying from OxyContin overdoses while the Purdue execs are snug in their beds. How come they aren’t also in prison? They not only sold the OxyContin to those people, they even lied about how dangerous the drug is.

The way I see it, this is a travesty of justice.  I’m still hoping they will be further prosecuted or made to do more to fix the problem they created. Helping get people the addiction help services they need would be a good start.

In Glenn Falls, New York, heroin abuse is on the rise. According to Police Chief, Joe Bethal, the problem may be caused by people switching from OxyContin and other prescription painkillers to heroin when what they really need is addiction help.

“One of the reasons may be because of prescription drug abuse. The pharmaceutical companies have manufactured quite a large amount of prescription opiate-based painkillers and we know they’re out there in the homes and the medicine cabinets,” said Chief Bethal.

He hit the nail right on the head. Pharmaceutical companies (Purdue Pharma, when it comes to OxyContin) are producing endless amounts of pain killers, and they will sell as many as they can.

If you can sell OxyContin to 34 internet pharmacies - enough OxyContin to fill 100 million prescriptions - you know there isn’t any discrimination. Anyone can become addicted to prescription pain killers. Warren County Undersheriff Robert Swan said, “It’s not just seen in one area, one group or a specific gender. It covers everyone”. Switching from prescription painkillers to heroin is a bad choice. As the Chief says, getting addiction help services is not a crime.

Diane Finch from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) has written an important piece about prescription drug dealing. 36 online pharmacies sold 100 million prescriptions in 2006. The main drugs sold were OxyContin (big surprise) and Hydrocodone. The drug dealers from the internet pharmacies in Tampa, Florida had to have a piece of the action. Another company benefiting from this was Purdue Pharmacy the company that brought us OxyContin and all of the subsequent addiction help necessary for the addicts.

Cardinal Health, the distributor for many of the narcotics, may have also had a hand in this. Cardinal’s license to distribute narcotics in Florida was suspended last year by the FDA. The amazing thing is that the drug companies must just sell these drugs to anyone who orders from them. If a pharmacy is delivering millions of prescriptions, shouldn’t the manufacturer or distributor have a responsibility in finding out where these drugs are going? Florida is mentioned, along with Puerto Rico, Israel, Colorado and Pakistan, as shipping locations. Some doctors in Florida are getting $25 dollars a pop for writing prescriptions. That could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

If you follow the money, I’m sure you can find out who is writing the prescriptions - at least in Florida and Colorado. Addiction help services are available for Oxycontin or Hydrocodone is available.

Heroin addiction has arrived in Ohio and, according to one law enforcement official, it’s because of the prescription drug monitoring system. The official, who asked not to be identified, said he has noticed a marked increase in heroin transactions and in the number of people needing addiction help and going to treatment over the past eight months.

If those who are addicted to or dependent on OxyContin or Vicodin don’t get addiction help, they’ll be out searching for heroin dealers. And pretty soon there will be more heroin dealers. Not just in Ohio - all over the country.

People will be shocked when they hear of friends dying from heroin overdoses or being arrested for making heroin purchases. Without addiction help, people from all walks of life - mothers, fathers, lawyers and other professionals - could end up doing jail time.

“Heroin has definitely been on the rise,” said the official, also a member of the Major Crimes Task Force. “Not just in Athens County, but I think in all of Southeast Ohio.”

States other than Ohio are sure to follow suit. In fact, some probably already are. I know there are already problems in the Northeast, and possibly in Oregon. Getting off OxyContin is not easy; it ranks right up there with getting off heroin. The ramifications of people using needles to feed their addictions isn’t pretty. And we may eventually see more cases of AIDS because of it.

OxyContin’s impact on the U.S. is just beginning. It will eventually cost billions of dollars. Help your friends, your family members or yourself and look for the addiction help services you need.

The YMCA in Coppell, Texas is planning to offer drug education for recreational drug users and support for families whose lives have been adversely affected by drugs and alcohol. Ralph Strangis, a former drug addict and alcoholic who is now an upstanding member of the community, will be speaking at the first event. According to Strangis, members of the local community tend to not talk about drug and alcohol problems. He’s hoping this program will enable them to do so. It also may help ensure people who need addiction help get it.

Not talking about alcohol and drug problems is not unusual. But for the 15 million or so people with alcohol problems in the U.S. who need treatment but don’t get it, talking about it - whether you’re the person with the problem or you are a friend or relative - could be the first step to getting the addiction help needed.

Unfortunately, too many people ignore problems with drugs or alcohol. Sometimes people see drugs, or alcohol, as just a phase that will blow over. Sometimes they think there’s nothing wrong with a little drugs or a few drinks. And sometimes the friends and family members don’t think they’d ever be able to convince the person to get help.

However, there is help available through an interventionist. If you need one, you should call Addiction Help Services - they’ll give you all the help you need.

Ignoring alcohol or drug problems is never a good solution. Eventually, it will ruin someone’s life. And some may even lose their lives altogether or be instrumental in someone else losing theirs. What’s better? Continuing to live with the problem or doing something about? Hopefully, other communities will follow in Coppell’s footsteps and make sure community members get the addiction help services they need.

Plano is not theonly