AHS Views

Now that more people in Kentucky are dying from prescription drug abuse and addiction than from car wrecks, lawmakers and a lot of other people are desperate to find ways to get the situation under control. Having more addiction help facilities and treatment programs available is one very good thing, but there’s a lot more to be done.

For example, one of the major problems we have to get a handle on is helping doctors figure out who is getting prescriptions from them just to get high or to sell the drugs to others. It will also tell them about patients who have a legitimate reason for being on a drug, but have been now taking it for far too long. They need to stop either because they’re already addicted, or they will become addicted very soon. A good example of this is people who started taking OxyContin and other painkillers after surgery, an injury, etc. They get hooked on the drug and are still taking it despite the fact that they no longer really need it for that injury. In other words, they are now dealing with OxyContin addiction.

To help in this, a bill was just passed requiring that all doctors use the prescription drug monitoring system – an electronic database hooked up to other doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, out-patient clinics and anywhere else a person could get prescription drugs legally. When the doctors check this database, they can see which patients have been getting which drugs from whom and how often. Along with examining and speaking with the patient, they can use this info to determine whether or not the patient really needs the drug for medical reasons – other than addiction.

Part of the bill also put this database into the hands of the attorney-generals office so they could also use it to monitor doctors who are over-prescribing. Hard to believe, but it’s true, that unethical doctors are one of the big problems leading to prescription drug addiction.

That part of the bill was not passed, however, maybe just the fact that the unethical doctors are in this database and that other doctors, as well as pharmacists, hospital staff, nurses, and so on, are going to be digging into the database as they treat patients, will be enough to make them back off a little.

In any case, at least using the prescription drug monitoring system will help some.

This might not seem like great news for those who are hooked on prescription drugs but, in fact, it is. With people dying from these drugs left, right and center, anything that can help get you off them
is good.

In the last 10 years, the number of people trying to get into a Kentucky drug rehab facility has increased by 900 percent. In 2010 alone, nearly 26,000 people were admitted to addiction help centers. But so many more people need help – 26,000 is just a drop in the bucket.

Kentucky has one of the worst drug addiction problems in the U.S. Prescription drug addiction is especially bad. OxyContin addiction, for example, really took off there as so many people were suffering from chronic pain. They got prescriptions from their doctor, now they’re addicted, and they need OxyContin rehab.

A lot of these people are also out of work. True, the area is depressed economically, but there are also a lot of jobs around. The problem is that employers are having trouble finding people who qualify for the jobs because of their drug use.

Getting a job isn’t the only problem the drug use is causing. A recent report also said that most of the children in the state who die or almost die from abuse or neglect are from homes that are coping with alcohol or drug abuse. Very, very sad.

The good news for them is that Medicaid is soon to cover the cost of addiction help, and as many of the people who need it are out of a job, they will qualify for government assistance.

The Kentucky governor proposed to add $11.6 million in Medicaid specifically to help with the addiction problem in the area. That will treat another 4,500 people. Plus, they’re going to increase that budget to $14.9 million next year, which will bring the number of people they can get through drug rehab up to nearly 5,000.

Hopefully, that will also make thousands of people eligible for employment, which means they’ll have a chance to turn their lives around.

Also, when the government starts helping people get the alcohol or drug addiction treatment they need, they’re first going to focus on parents with young children.

If you’re living in Kentucky and need addiction help, or know someone who does, make sure you check with the government. The extra money for Medicaid isn’t fully approved yet, but should be soon. Give the governor’s office a call and they’ll give you more information.

It’s amazing to hear stories of recovery, even more amazing to hear about a former addict’s background. It’s often nothing like you would expect. Fortunately, addiction help can really turn lives around.

One recent story is about a woman who came from an even better than normal childhood. She was a member of the student council, and getting ready for college when she started using alcohol and marijuana. That was in her early teens.

By the time she was further on in high school, she started with cocaine and prescription drugs. Then, while in college, ended up on heroin.

It’s not unusual for people who have taken prescription drugs – especially painkillers – to wind up on heroin. An OxyContin addiction, for example, can be extremely expensive. The pills can cost up to $60 each, and it’s common to take a few every day. Obviously, most college kids can’t afford that. Heroin, on the other hand, can be purchased for $5 a hit. Most heroin addicts have two or three hits a day, sometimes more.

So .. it’s a lot less expensive, but even $30 or $45 a day is still more than most people can afford to spend on drugs. Thank heaven for small blessings.

For this girl, who called herself Jamie, not her real name, it was too expensive. She was caught stealing at work – she supported her habit with theft – lost her job, and wound up going before a judge in drug court. Fortunately, she was given the opportunity to go to drug rehab rather than going to prison.

Jamie is now drug free, has a new job, is reunited with her family, and life is back to normal.

Do you have a son, daughter, spouse or good friend with a drug problem?

Don’t wait for them to wind up in court, get them into an addiction help program now.

The lead medical examiner in Brevard County, Florida recently said that when he is called out to investigate a death that does not involve a shooting, stabbing or motor vehicle accident, there’s a good chance that drugs are involved. But he’s not referring to street drugs like heroin, cocaine, or meth – he’s talking about oxycodone (trade name OxyContin.) In fact, he said that it’s so common, “You can almost guess when you go to the scene” that oxycodone was a factor. Prescription drug addiction help could have prevented many of these deaths.

In the last few years, hundreds of deaths in his county have been directly attributed to OxyContin, and hundreds more have involved OxyContin although the drug was not listed as the cause of death.

And that’s just one of Florida’s 67 counties, and not necessarily the worst one.

Here we are, spending $ billions on the War on Drugs – with the focus on illegal drug manufacture, transport, sales, etc. etc. – and the worst enemy we have is turning out to be the drugs made legally and prescribed for literally millions of people every day.

In fact, these drugs present a far more dangerous situation than illegal drugs ever have – especially because people consider that, since they are prescribed by doctors, they are safe. And people are not properly warned of just how addictive these drugs are.

Another factor creating this problem is the drug culture that has been created by the medical establishment. It’s an unfortunate fact that drugs have become the solution to many problems that could be – and should be – addressed successfully without drugs.

The “Just Say No’ campaign focuses on street drugs. You’re supposed to just say no when someone approaches you in the schoolyard or at a party or on the street. But what about just saying no to your doctor? What about demanding that your doctor come up with a less dangerous solution to your problems?

Really, there are so many people who are dealing with OxyContin addiction, and addiction to other prescription painkillers as well as other prescription drugs, that it could make a huge difference if we just said no when our doctors suggest drugs as the only solution.

It would also create a huge, and positive, effect on kids if they didn’t watch their parents taking drugs as solutions to pain, sleeplessness, anxiety, stress, tension, and so on. What if those parents were teaching kids to find the root cause of and deal with their problems? What if parents set that kind of example and, at the same time, educated their kids on why drugs shouldn’t be a solution.

It’s a proven fact that kids whose parents educate them like this are 50 percent less likely to get involved in drugs themselves.

It’s time to broaden the “Just Say No” concept. Start with yourself. Start with your doctor. If we demand better solutions, doctors will be forced to find them, and to refer us to health practitioners who can really help. We can then start turning around the prescription drug addiction epidemic.

If someone in your family already had a problem with prescription drugs, get them into drug rehab before they become one of the statistics.

Officials in Tennessee are predicting a surge in heroin addiction. Why? Is there a bumper crop of poppies in Afghanistan? Have the Mexican drug cartels pumped up their marketing efforts or lowered their heroin prices? No. It’s because there are so many people suffering from OxyContin addiction and addiction to other painkillers and prescription drugs, and those drugs are SO expensive, that the addicts are switching to heroin.

Why aren’t they just getting addiction help to overcome their problem? Well, that’s the nature of addiction; people don’t just walk into a drug addiction treatment center because they can no longer afford to support their addiction. They find ways to get the money – usually illegal and dangerous – or they find cheaper drugs.

Are we talking about druggies shooting up in alleys? No. We’re talking about the middle class – white collar workers and high school and college students coming from nice homes.

They tend to snort or smoke heroin instead of injecting it – that makes it more socially acceptable AND they have the false idea that if you don’t inject it, it’s less addictive – and dealers will even deliver to their homes, offices and dorm rooms.

It’s a regular gourmet take-out and delivery.

And instead of paying $30 to $80 per pill for OxyContin, hydrocodone or other prescription drugs, they only pay $10.

Prescription drug addiction is more common than you might think. It’s epidemic all over the U.S., and there’s a good chance that someone you are close to has a prescription drug addiction or abuse problem – your kids, some of their friends, your nieces or nephews, even your spouse.

If you need addiction help for prescription drugs – for yourself or anyone else – contact Addiction Help Services. Don’t let your family and friends turn into heroin addicts. Now is the time to help them change their lives.

I recently read an article about the prescription drug addiction problem in a certain state. There was a big task force formed by the police, various addiction help facilities and a number of other groups. One of the government officials in the town was quoted as saying that he didn’t think there was a prescription drug addiction problem, that there was no evidence of it. Boy, does this guy have his head in the sand. All you have to do is call a few addiction help facilities and you’ll find that is not the case.

The facts are all over the place – they’re even published by various government agencies. Saying that prescription drug addiction is not a problem is like telling us the Holocaust never happened. Get real.

While it’s true that most people taking prescription drugs – as prescribed by their doctor – use them for the purpose for which their doctor intended them (and even those people can easily get addicted) the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 20 percent of Americans use prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

Also, a 2009 study found that 16 million Americans ages 12 and older took prescription drugs for non-medical purposes at least once in the prior year, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration.

And if anyone thinks these drugs are not addictive, why have addiction help facilities been inundated with people suffering from OxyContin addiction, Xanax addiction, and addiction to other tranquilizers and sedatives and even speed like Ritalin and Adderall?

The pill mills in Florida – which give away OxyContin and other painkillers like candy and have become huge legal suppliers for prescription drug addicts all up the eastern seaboard – are currently the subject of legislation.

Police reports from all across the country say that prescription drug addiction and abuse is becoming more and more of a problem in their area.

I can’t imagine why anyone would think it’s not an issue. Whatever ………..

The truth is this – prescription drug addiction IS epidemic. Kids are getting them from their parents’ medicine cabinets, pain clinics are handing them out like candy, people are going from one doctor to another faking symptoms to get more pills, thefts from pharmacies and other legit suppliers are becoming increasingly common, and even seniors are dealing them – watch the news.

Don’t let some blind politician make you feel that prescription drugs are safe – and if you have a problem with them, or there’s a problem with someone you care about, get into a drug rehab center.

I don’t know if there’s anything more likely to turn the average Joe into a criminal than OxyContin addiction. OxyContin is selling for $80 to $100 a pill. Crooked doctors, pharmacists and drug dealers are making money hand over fist, while turning people into drug addicts and criminals. If there was ever a time addiction help was needed in a big way in the U.S. it is now. The prescription drug addiction problem has turned into something more serious than all the street drugs put together.

The worst thing is the type of person who is taking OxyContin – people who were originally given a prescription by their doctor for an injury, illness or surgery and then couldn’t get off them. Kids who showed up at a party where everyone brought pills from their parents’ medicine cabinets – out for a few kicks, thinking that because the pills came from a doctor, they’re safe.

The next thing you know, you’re dealing with an addict. And what are they going to do when the prescriptions run out? Either the doctor stops renewing it or, in the kid’s case, the pill bottle at home is now empty. They’re going to have to find those drugs, or something similar, elsewhere.

And it’s not going to be free or covered by medical insurance. It’s going to be expensive – $80 – $100 a pill. And taking at least two or three pills a day, Maybe more.

What can the average person do to afford that?

They turn into dealers themselves, or they start stealing things and selling them, etc. – for kids, that will probably be from their parents at first – etc. In other words, they turn to a life of crime. Even seniors are selling OxyContin and other prescription drugs to their addicted friends!!

Drug rehab can get a person back onto the right path. If you know someone with a prescription drug addiction problem, get addiction help now.

An investigation in New Jersey is evaluating what causes young people to move from one drug to another – specifically, the relationship between prescription drugs and heroin. The investigation was motivated in part by a rise in both heroin and prescription drug deaths in the area. They’re hoping their findings will prevent these deaths and also help motivate people to get addiction help before they really get into trouble.

What they found is that young people often get their start getting drugs from their parents – OxyContin, Percoset and Xanax are among the major problems. Parents have them in their medicine cabinets. One in five young people experiment with those drugs, and then they want more.

Most young people are not going to have easy access to those pills in the medicine cabinet forever. Their parents sometimes find out they’re using them, or they’ve been taking so many they’re afraid their parents will find out, or their parents may have been taking OxyContin or Percoset for an injury or after surgery, and don’t need them anymore so they’re no longer filling prescriptions.

For the kid, the source dries up. But he or she still wants them, or, by this time, may even be at the point of needing some form of addiction help services. In either case, they go looking elsewhere for the same effect they got from the drugs in the medicine cabinet.

They may go to a doctor themselves and fake symptoms to get their own prescription. They could go to one of the many so-called ‘pain management clinics’ that are basically unethical pill mills just out to make money Or they may turn to drug dealers on the street. Prescription painkillers like OxyContin are readily available – their abuse is now epidemic and the street pushers are really taking advantage of it.

But those prescription pills, when bought on the street rather than being covered by some medical plan, can also cost as much as $80 each – not particularly affordable for a young person. At this point, they often turn to heroin.

Heroin used to be expensive. It’s not anymore. You can get a hit for $5. They might start off using one hit every few days, then go to one a day, then to two or three a day. The more they take, the more they need to get the same effect as the first time they took it. But, even when things have escalated to two or three hits a day, they’re still only spending about as much in a week for heroin as it would have cost them for one pill if they’d stuck with OxyContin. It’s not a small amount of money, but it’s definitely more attainable than $80 per pill.

Some kids will also turn to drug dealing or other crimes to make the money they need for the drugs. Now they’re not just an addict, they’re also a criminal.

Almost always, they have little education on OxyContin or other prescription drugs, or heroin. They often think OxyContin is safe because doctors prescribe it – if only they knew how many people are suffering from OxyContin addiction, even those who have had it prescribed by their doctor – and chances are they’re not educated on heroin at all.

Even those who are knowledgeable about these drugs get addicted, and some overdose and die.

Obviously, one of the major actions that should be taken by parents to avoid this situation is to either not have any prescription medications in their home or to have them hidden and under lock and key so their kids won’t be tempted to take them.

After all – the pills are making you feel better. Kids want to feel better, too. Young people are not as problem-free as you might think or hope. Their problems are different than ours, but they are real nevertheless.

Remember – the above investigation was motivated by deaths, for both prescription drugs and heroin. If that’s not a chance you want to take, get your pills locked up. And if you think your kids are taking prescription drugs, it’s important to get them into drug rehab fast – before it becomes a disaster. They might not die, but they could definitely ruin their lives, and yours.

Florida has the biggest prescription drug abuse problem in the country. Despite that, it does not have a prescription drug monitoring system that will help isolate those getting prescriptions for the purpose of reselling the drugs to others. The monitoring program could put dealers out of business and, for those who are dealing to support their own habit, it may open the door to them getting some addiction help.

Florida was on the brink of implementing the system when Rick Scott, Florida’s new governor was elected. He got in by the narrowest margin in a Florida election in 24 years, and his approval rating has sank so much in just the few months he’s been in office that there’s no chance at all that he would be elected if voters had to do it over again. One of the reasons is that he vetoed the prescription drug monitoring plan.

He first said it was because of the expense. Then, after it was confirmed that NOT ONE CENT of the money would come out of the state’s coffers, he changed his tune and said he’d vetoed it because monitoring people’s prescription drug habits was an invasion of privacy.

It has since come to light that he’s an investor in a chain of about 40 pill mills, whoops, sorry, that’s ‘pain management clinics’, which are a major source of the problem.

Other politicians, lawmakers and the general public are incensed. I’m sure the thousands of Floridians whose family members and friends have been turned into addicts and, worse, overdosed on prescription painkillers and are now in their graves, would like to see him out of office.

Being an owner of pills mills, Scott can pretty much be designated a drug dealer at this point – add that to his other many stellar qualities. He’s obviously just protecting what is probably a very lucrative source of personal income.

Again, prescription drugs, especially painkillers, are a huge problem. Purdue, makers of OxyContin, said that 95% of their business is done in Florida. The company even offered to pay the $ million it would take to implement the system – read ‘public relations’ – trying to make themselves look like the good guys, after having paid out $642 million in fines for their fraudulent marketing of OxyContin – not a sincere desire to sell fewer pills.

Prescription drug abuse is becoming an even bigger problem than street drugs. In fact, in some areas of the country, it’s much worse.

Push for prescription drug monitoring in any way you can and, most importantly for your personal life, don’t hesitate to get any friends and family you suspect may be addicted to painkillers into a drug rehab program asap. Before they become one of the statistics.

Prescription drugs are turning out to be such a problem. People all over the U.S. are addicted to them or abusing them. When compared to street drug problems, more people are dying from prescription drugs, more end up in emergency rooms because of them, more people are showing up at rehab centers for addiction help, and they are motivating more criminal activity than you can shake a stick at.

And now they’re draining the Medicare and Medicaid coffers that the elderly and the poor depend on.

The government is worried that in the near future there won’t be enough money to honor the Medicare agreement with American citizens. This is something we’ve paid into all our lives and now it’s endangered – and the problem is partially the millions or billions of dollars being shelled out for prescription drug abuse.

In New York, 33 Medicaid patients were arrested by the Drug Enforcement Agency who were using the health care system to pay for prescription drugs, mostly painkillers, that they then sold illegally.

Those pills are worth a lot of money on the street. So, not only are we getting ripped off for the drugs, we’re also supporting people with health coverage through Medicaid that they obviously don’t need. They would be making enough money off those drugs to pay for their own visits to get prescriptions!

If you know of someone who has a problem with prescription painkillers like OxyContin, Oxycodone, and so on, make sure they get help. You’ll not only change their lives completely, you could also be helping millions of others safeguard their future.