AHS Views

I don’t have any problem with ingenuity. In fact, I admire and approve of most entrepreneurs. However, this case is an exception: I think positioning an energy drink to appear as a drug is sleazy.  Logan Gola, the CEO of Blow, has made his energy drink powder and packaging look like a vial of cocaine. Energy drinks may not be gateway drugs requiring drug addiction help, and naming energy drinks after drugs isn’t illegal, but I wonder what parents will think if a few 10 year olds order it and have it stored in their bedrooms.

A similar product called ‘Cocaine’ was taken off the market by the FDA - the same may happen to Blow. ‘Cocaine’s’ manufacturer changed the name and redistributed it, but it now looks like they’ve won the battle to use the name ‘Cocaine’ again. Blow and Logan Gola may get some publicity for this product. But in this case, I hope it is a dismal failure.  I can’t really see how promoting an energy drink to appear like cocaine can help anyone, except perhaps Mr. Gola.

Cocaine has been a problem in Florida for 40 years and to try and ride on those coattails doesn’t seem to be in the best interest of anyone except Mr. Gola, a few employees, and perhaps some investors. At Addiction Help Services we talk to people who are addicted to cocaine, it isn’t a joke and they do need drug addiction help. In time we will know if these energy drinks are “gateway drugs.” For now I would advise keeping your children away from them. In Florida, one school district in Broward County has banned them from campus. Mr. Gola, if you need addiction help I hope you will get it.

I read two articles about the same subject today - both promoted the idea that ADHD drugs don’t add up to the need for addiction help. One was entitled “ADHD drugs not linked to future drug abuse,” and the other was “Without Substance: ADHD meds don’t up kids’ drug abuse risk.” I found the articles interesting. The headlines would make you think that ADHD drugs are safe - except that both articles say that if you start taking ADHD drugs at the ripe old age of, say, eight, you may be at higher risk. My bet is that if you start taking them at age 12, it’s worse. But I haven’t read the studies yet. The other thing the headlines don’t say is that 44% of kids who started taking Ritalin after age eight had substance abuse problems. I would guess they needed or, perhaps, still need addiction help as well.

The studies were reported in the May issue of the American Journal Of Psychiatry. Psychologist Salvatore Mannuzza concluded that the 44% have other problems that caused the drug abuse – that the drugs (Ritalin or Adderall) were not the problem.

However, his quote shows that his ideas are speculative: “These volunteers likely became adult abusers because of this condition, not because of stimulant treatment as children.” This sounds like a conclusion based on opinion - not really very scientific. Also the study was started 17 years ago, long before the problem of prescription drug abuse became the problem it is today. There are millions of kids on Ritalin and Adderall - let’s hope 44% don’t need addiction help services.

According to a study conducted by Dr. Denise Herd of the University of California at Berkeley, rappers - whose music used to warn against drugs - are now contributing to drug addiction and the need for more drug addiction help.

As role models for many of America’s youth, shouldn’t rappers try to improve society and not glorify the use of drugs?

Dr. Herd studied 341 of the most popular rap songs from 1979 to 1997. She found that after 1993, 69% of rap songs contained positive references to drug use. Compare that to only 11% between 1979 and 1984.

I would have to say that is remarkable and disgusting. Do inner city and urban parents want their kids listening to someone who promotes drugs to them?

Sixty percent of prison populations are minorities and 70% of those in prison have an addiction problem. 12% of black males in their twenties are in prison and a large percentage also have drug problems.

I wonder why rappers as a group would want to make positive references to drug use and make an at-risk group even more at risk. Are there any famous rappers out there who would start a non profit or a coalition to warn young people about abusing drugs instead of making it the thing to do in a rap song? Getting drug addiction help services is not always easy - staying drug free is your best bet.

If you started taking OxyContin and ended up needing drug addiction help for any reason, here is what the FDA has to say: “The fact that the sponsor misrepresented OxyContin’s addictive potential does not negate the findings of safety and effectiveness of the drug when used properly.” That’s from Susan Cruzan, FDA spokeswoman.

In case you didn’t know, Purdue Pharma pled guilty in May 2007 to falsely advertising OxyContin as having a low potential for addiction. I’m not sure if the FDA has figured out that OxyContin is highly addictive and is harder to get off of than heroin.  OxyContin was originally approved for terminal cancer patients in extreme pain. Perhaps Purdue Pharma decided that it had little addictive potential because people who used it “properly” would die anyway.

While that may be harsh, one ongoing problem we have in this country because of misuse is a “national wave of pharmacy robberies.” Another problem is people who have become dependent on the drug. The FDA seems to hide behind the word addiction and, since people who are dependent are not addicted by their definition, no other action by the FDA is necessary.

The problems and costs of OxyContin addiction or dependency are ongoing for everyone except Purdue. Robberies won’t matter to Purdue because the drugs stolen from pharmacies are paid for, as are the drugs purchased to replace them – in other words, whether the drugs are legally or illegally obtained, Purdue Pharma cashes in. Of course legal costs, investigative costs, and prison costs are all paid for by us taxpayers. And we also foot the bill for the hundreds of publicly-funded drug detox and drug rehab centers. Drug addiction help for OxyContin keeps us busy here at Addiction Help Services.

In a Miami Herald article about a psychologist being investigated for drug abuse, Eulinda Jackson, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said “everything about this case is confidential”, including the psychologist’s name and whether or not he’s still practicing. Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the Washington-based consumer group Public Citizen commented that ‘doctors like to protect doctors,” and Raymond Pomm, head of the group that handles the impaired physicians’ program said ”If we don’t protect them, they won’t come knocking on the door.” A fine state of affairs - the medical professionals we depend on to take care of our health not only have drug problems themselves, their level of ethics is so low that if there’s a chance anyone will find out they have a problem, they won’t even get the addiction help services they need. What about their responsbility to their patients?

I realize that we’re not talking about all doctors by a long shot and I also realize that doctors are human like everyone else and have the same problems as anyone has who is driven to drugs or alcohol. But, they also hold a position of public trust that should not be violated or compromised. How can a doctor who’s stoned possibly guarantee that he will do no harm to his patients?

There are plenty of options out there for doctors.  A private, confidential Florida drug detox centers would be their first step.

The drug problem the psychologist written about in the article had is now being addressed - but only because his ex-wife saw drugs and drug paraphernalia at his house and wrote a letter to the authorities about it. If you know a doctor with a drug or alcohol problem, do them a favor and do the same thing. Write that letter. He will not only get the drug addiction help he needs, you could save his career, his life, and the lives of some of his patients.

If you live in Tennessee and go to a pharmacy in Ringgold, Georgia, there’s at least one pharmacist there who will know you’re doctor shopping -  Chuck Gass. Tennessee has a prescription drug monitoring system so doctor shopping is almost impossible and if you get caught doing it  using TennCare you can go to jail for two years. While it is better to get drug addiction help than resort to going from one doctor to another faking symptoms, most addicts will simply drive to Georgia, or possibly Florida, to get the OxyContin they need.

Doctors in Tennessee have become very clever about this sort of thing: If they suspect someone of doctor shopping, they’ll use drug testing and common sense before prescribing pain pills. Dr. France Barnett, for example, of Jasper, Tennessee has implemented monthly drug testing. If you ask for a prescription and your test doesn’t come up positive she kicks you out of her practice. Another doctor, William Hays of Cleveland, Tennessee, watches for patients traveling long distances to get a prescription and recognizes it as a tell tale sign of doctor shopping.

I wonder if anyone will wake up and bill Purdue Pharmacy for all of the new regulations state governments have to put in place to combat prescription drug addiction. OxyCodone ranks second behind marijuana as the most abused drug in the U.S. Get drug addiction help servcies if you are addicted to OxyContin, don’t doctor shop.