AHS Views

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.

“Addicts need guidance, not judgement” is the headline of an article about the TV show Intervention and the fact that it humanizes addicts - to think of them as people with a problem who need help, drug addiction help, instead of people of “poor morals” who refuse to improve their situation.

What many people don’t understand about drug addicts is that, these days, many of them became addicted when they were given drugs by their doctors - painkillers, tranquillizers, antidepressants - and when it came time to get off them, they couldn’t.

Others may have started very young, perhaps with Ritalin, Adderall or some other drug supposedly used to handle a ‘disorder.” Ritalin, for example, is similar to cocaine. Whe you’re eight years old and using cocaine, and continue to do so for years, it’s got to be pretty hard to get and stay drug free later in life.

Prescription drug addiction is the worst epidemic this country has ever seen. Think twice before allowing someone you care about to go on these kinds of drugs and if they’re already on them, consider getting them the drug addiction help services they need. Don’t judge, just help. 

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.

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.

Would you want your 10 year old to drink four cups of coffee before he went off to school? Don’t dismiss the idea that either Monster Energy or Red Bull could end up being gateway drugs to either prescription stimulant abuse or cocaine and the need for addiction help.

Most kids say they take drugs to help elevate feelings they have - stress, drowsiness and being nervous are just a few.  They generally use Xanax, OxyContin Ritalin and Adderall: They take Xanax to feel relaxed, OxyContin to feel numb and Ritalin or Adderall to feel more alert. A recent survey showed that 20% of 12 to 17 year old kids take prescription drugs illegally.

You can read about investment mangers, doctors, lawyers or moms who do the same thing.

Young kids can’t always get their hands on drugs so they use inhalants and other things. So, if you can’t get your hands on Ritalin to perk up, how about a Monster Energy drink or two?

Four kids from Florida ended up in the hospital this week from drinking to much Redline, another energy drink. Monster and Red Bull are marketed to 10 to 20 year old kids. There are no regulations on these drinks, and there probably won’t be, but these drinks just aren’t healthy. Will your child need addiction help because he drinks to much Monster Energy at age 11? Probably not, I mean it isn’t heroin. But if he wants speed at age 10 he might start looking for something stronger at age 13 and that won’t be a triple espresso. It will be his friend’s Ritalin and then more Ritalin or Adderall.

Crazy maybe, but don’t kid yourself , 30% of college students use stimulants to study or to get high so use doesn’t decrease, it goes up.

An earlier blog this week talked about a UC Santa Barbara college student who described stimulant abuse as out of control at that school.  Just this week Australia banned various over the counter stimulants that have been banned in the U.S.  for years (more on that later this week) but Australia is the origin of Red Bull.

Parents can’t control what there kids’ do 24/7 but maybe its time the FDA does get involved and try and control the amount of speed type substances that go into these drinks. Addiction help for Monster isn’t really likely but there’s a good chance addiction help services will be needed later on.

An interview with Joseph Califano, Chairman of the Board and President of the national Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, is to be aired Sunday on the Prescription Drug Radio Show on WGUL 860 AM and on the Internet at www.860wgul.com. According to Califano, “the medicine cabinet has become more dangerous than the drug dealer. We couldn’t agree more. There are at least as many people in need of addiction help for prescription drugs as there are for street drugs.

If you want to find out more about the dangers of prescription drug addiction, dependency and abuse, or you have any doubt that it’s a serious problem, listen to this show.

Califano is trying to raise public awareness of the problem. After listening, or before, if you feel you or someone you care about needs help with prescription drugs, call Addiction Help Services. There are thousands of drug detox and drug rehab facilities available. We can help you find the right one for your situation so you can come off the drugs safely. 

Senator Biden is looking into the problems caused by prescription drug addiction, dependency and abuse. He heard testimonies about the most commonly abused drugs - Vicodin, OxyContin, Valium and Xanax – and, according to The Talk Radio News Service, “experts’ testimonies at the hearing were appalling.” The whole situation is appalling and President Bush and others have known about it for years. The amount of addiction help necessary for the American public is staggering.

People are dependent on all of the above drugs and more. And some are switching from things like Vicodin to heroin because they can no longer afford Vicodin or can’t get any more prescriptions.

Biden should look into the manufacturers of these drugs and see if he can figure out why so many drug companies are making so much money. Don’t just point the finger at doctors: Find out why so many prescriptions are being written in Alabama for instance.
Kentucky, West Virginia and Florida have all been hit by this epidemic and more and more people need addiction help because of it.

If you need addiction help services, get them before it’s too late. Deaths from prescription drug overdoses are on the rise.

Pledging to help “the millions of elderly Americans who can’t get through the day without popping pills or shooting up insulin,” President Bush announced his committment  to wiping out prescription-drug use among seniors around 2001. Last year 184,000 people went for addiction help for things like OxyContin, Vicodin, and Xanax.  Roughly 10% of them were over the age of 50. I don’t think the millions of Americans President Bush was talking about received any addiction help at all.

In 2001 there were an estimated 1.7 million elderly who needed addiction help according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. They are saying 4.4 million will need addiction help by 2010. While I don’t have any sophisticated systems to tell me the right number, I would bet there are four million people over the age of 50 who need addiction help now. They are on painkillers, sleeping pills and tranquilizers.

You could reread the first sentence of this blog: Bush said there were millions in 2001. The growth rate for prescription drug addiction and abuse is rising dramatically according to most reports. My guess is that 4.4 million in need of addiction help in 2020 will be low.

Get  addiction help services if you are on prescription drugs that you no longer need.

This is a follow up to yesterday’s blog about the four students from Ringgold High School in Catoosa County, Tennessee. Timothy Lebron Smith died from an overdose after taking four 80mg pills. Pharmacists have reminded me that OxyContin was originally marketed for terminally ill cancer patients in extreme pain. It seems that the purpose for the drug has been changed – now anyone in pain uses it. The pharmacists from Catoosa County want to take it off the shelves. Purdue Pharma should have some risk here if people don’t know how dangerous OxyContin is. Drug education will help, as will locking up the medication, but if people don’t realize they are holding a loaded gun then the fault lies with the pharmaceutical company. Doctors also need more education concerning the addictive nature of all prescription drugs; they especially need to warn their patients about the dangers of getting addicted to OxyContin or Oxyodone and what sort of addiction help services they will need if they do become addicted.

Would fewer people become addicted to prescription painkillers like OxyContin or Vicodin if Massachusetts Rep. Steve Walsh’s bill passes?  Rep. Walsh wants doctors to be required to 10 hours of training on pain medications and pain management in order to get or renew their license. I think Rep. Walsh has the right idea. It would give doctors the knowledge they need to help stop the prescription drug epidemic and reduce the number of people needing addiction help for drugs they got from their doctor.

Massachusetts has a serious prescription drug problem - doctors should be made to study what happens when people become addicted to those drugs and what they have to go through to get the addiction help necessary to get off them.  They should also be made aware of and study the addictive nature of Valium and Xanax, which are often even harder to withdraw from than painkillers like methadone and OxyContin. In fact, they can be even worse than heroin.

If doctors understood more about the drugs they prescribe, they could ensure they prescribe the right dose for the right length of time.

One of the problems with prescription drug addiction and dependency is that it also increases the number of people using heroin. If a patient becomes addicted to or dependent on a prescription painkiller, they often turn to heroin when their prescription runs out. Heroin will continue to be a growing problem in Massachusetts as long as people are becoming addicted to OxyContin or other painkillers. Training the doctors, whether they’re applying for their license or renewing is a great idea. It will cut down on the need for addiction help services and it should be required in every state by every doctor.