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On Monday the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released figures on prescription drug abuse in New Jersey.

National studies have shown that 3% of residents have abused prescription drugs in the past year with 6% of those in the 18-25 age bracket reporting misusing prescription drugs.

Those numbers are even higher in New Jersey where recent reports show the numbers for young adults in the 18-25 category at 11% while statewide 4% of residents reported they abused prescription drugs in the past year.

The White House report also stated that admissions to drug and alcohol rehab programs for pain killers have increased 217% from 1999-2005 for New Jersey. Deputy US Drug Czar Scott Burns said, “Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in New Jersey.” Officials partly blame the practice of “doctor shopping” where people go from doctor to doctor obtaining multiple prescriptions and have them filled at different pharmacies, a practice which is on the rise nationwide.

New Jersey is one of 16 states that still don’t have a drug-monitoring program in place that would allow doctors and pharmacies to receive up to date and accurate information about the patients drug history.

Does your state have a drug monitoring program available? Do you think this should be implemented on a federal level? Let us know what you think.

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In today’s day and age, beer is still considered the drink of choice for many Czechs. According to the UK-based Society for the Study of Addiction, in 2003, Czechs drank an average of 162 liters of beer per person.

This is more than any other nation on earth. That’s one bottle of beer for every man, woman, and child in the Czech Republic every day.

In this nation, the pub has been and will remain a key place for many to gather after work. In fact the above trend is not recent and drinking beer has been apart of Czech history for at least 1,000 years. Beers like Budweis and Pilsner beers were born and remain popular, both in the Czech Republic and around the globe.

What’s even more odd is that scientists in the United Kingdom just did a study and reported that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than Ecstasy, marijuana and LSD as alcohol is involved in half of all emergency room visits in the country.

The study went on to say that tobacco causes 40 percent of all illnesses that require hospitalization. Scientists doing the study feel that alcohol and tobacco cause more economical and societal problems than the use of many of these illegal drugs.

Will these new findings cut down on the amount of alcohol use and abuse in the country? Will many who abuse alcohol now turn to abusing drugs because these drugs are reported as being less dangerous than alcohol?

Article by Eric

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There are many drugs in existence today, both legal and illegal, that are called “non-addictive.”

In fact, pharmaceutical companies have come out with “non-narcotic” forms of pain relief like Ultram and Ambien that are “safe if used as directed and non-addictive” yet the incidents of people becoming addicted to these drugs continues to increase.

This is not something new.

In the 1850’s when opium addiction first became an epidemic in the United States, morphine was used as a non-addictive substitute until it was later outlawed in the 1920’s because of its’ addictive properties.

There have even been statements that the illegal drugs marijuana is a “non-addictive” and “non-harmful” drug, yet it continues to be one of the most abused drug in the country.

Another drug said to be “non-addictive” is LSD which is in fact one of the most harmful drugs out there, causing long-term damage to users. Not only does LSD cause flashbacks, where certain aspects of their LSD experience reoccur, but it also can cause long-lasting psychoses, and drug tolerance - where the user needs more and more of the drug to achieve the desired effect. After experiencing their first high on LSD, many users take this drug over and over again, even with the negative effects associated with the drug.

The fact remains that drugs alter the senses and perceptions. Drugs produce a high in the user and the user continues taking the drugs to achieve the desired effect and in many cases takes more and more of the drug. This is true of everything from LSD to marijuana, to those legal prescription drugs and replacement drug therapies that are so heavily promoted on a day to day basis.

Calling these drugs “non-addictive” is not only a false statement but easily proven untrue, not only with illegal drugs like marijuana and LSD but also with “legal” drugs like prescription pain pills, anti-depressants and replacement drug therapies.

If these drugs are so non-addictive, why does the number of people becoming addicted to them continue to increase?

You do the math and you’ll see that “non-addictive” drugs really don’t exist.

Article by Eric

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Recently the Broward County Medical Examiner has ruled that Anna Nicole Smith’s death was the result of an accidental drug overdose. Since she was found unresponsive on Feb 8th in her hotel room in Hollywood, FL there has been a media storm surrounding questions of how she died as well as where to bury her and who gets custody of her infant daughter Dannielynn.

It was stated by the Medical Examiner that prescription drugs found in therapeutic levels were present when the body was examined.

Benzodiazepine medications such as Klonipin, Valium and Ativan were all found in her body as well as Chloral Hydrate, a sedative used in the short-term treatment of insomnia as well as to relieve anxiety and induce sleep before surgery. It is also used after surgery for pain and to treat alcohol withdrawl.

Additionally Topomax, a medication commonly used in the treatment of seizures, the muscle relaxant Soma as well as over the counter medications such as Benedryl and Tylenol were also found to be present in her toxicology report.

It is believed that the combination of these and other drugs found in her bloodstream are what resulted in her death.

Questions of whether this could have been prevented if the multiple doctors who prescribed these medications were aware of the interactions between them could not be answered.

More and more in the United States this is a trend for many drug users who seek out prescription medications from multiple doctors without letting one know about the other, called “doctor shopping” it is a practice many prescription drug abusers are all too familiar with. As we can now see the results of the interactions of these drugs taken together even at therapeutic levels can be deadly.

Did Anna Nicole intend to commit suicide or was she simply taking medications as directed?

At this point, at least as far as the medical examiner is concerned, the death was accidental; an eerie warning to those who use any combination of these drugs without the physicians who prescribe them being aware of the combinations the patient is taking.

Should doctors who prescribe benzodiazepines be held responsible if a person dies from the interaction of drugs they prescribe when taken at therapeutic levels? What do you think?

Article by Eric

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Earlier we discussed the notion that LSD and other hallucinogens were possibly the most harmful drugs, simply for what they do to a person’s mind.

Well, a new ranking system of drugs has been recommended and was recently printed in The Lancet medical journal in the UK. This new system devised harm scores for drugs, examining the damage caused by each drug not just to an individual or how addictive it was, but also by the damage it caused to families and society as a whole.

Topping the list were heroin and cocaine, but an article in The Guardian seemed surprised that alcohol was placed fifth on the list.

Although it is the world’s most consumed addictive substance and is legal, it actually costs more to the population in terms of damage caused by its use. This includes deaths from drinking and driving, as well as domestic violence, assault and battery, and lost productivity at work.

Also mentioned in the article was that marijuana was ranked as being more harmful that Ecstasy, LSD and GHB.

Does this classification system make sense? These British research scientists seemed to think so. What do you think?

Article by Eric

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Despite any stereotypes about drug users, there is no definite outline of an addict.

There is not a single gene that defines one, or a certain family background, favorite food or economic status either. It’s not like only the rich can afford to use drugs or only the poor use certain type of drugs. It is intermingled.

However, some drugs do cost more than others generally.

Recent information from the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals some of the world’s drug prices. It found that heroin could range from $50 to a few hundred dollars per gram, depending on the type and purity. Cocaine, which is often considered one of the most expensive drugs, averaged out to be about $100 per gram. However, crack-cocaine can be purchased for about $20 per rock and another stimulant, methamphetamine, is manufactured and sold at prices much less than cocaine.

Marijuana prices varied greatly depending on the potency of THC content, but generally averaged around $15 per gram, while Ecstasy has remained fairly steady at an average of $25 per pill.

Underground markets have also developed for pharmaceuticals, everything from painkillers, to sedatives and stimulants. Kids sell their Ritalin pills at school for $5 and dealers specialize in Oxycontin, selling 20 mg pills for about $15.

There have also been newer drug combinations, such as “cheese” found in Texas, which is a little bit of heroin mixed with over-the-counter painkillers. This was specifically targeted toward kids, both in marketing tactics and price.

A report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also states that more than one million kids tried inhaling household products in 2005. This means that it was basically FREE, and is a disturbing statistic.

The problem is that there will always be a product to meet the demand, and therefore more prevention efforts that work should be used, diverting funds from the supply reduction to education practices.

What’s your take on the illicit drug market?

Article by Eric

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Among prescription drugs that are commonly abused, painkillers lead the category. As with other drugs, the usage varies from age range as well as by state.

According to an article by the Associated Press (AP), a federal study of painkiller abuse found that Utah led the nation in 2004 and 2005. The study was released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and it was found that approximately 6.5 percent of Utah’s population 12 and over used prescription drugs non-medically (without a prescription). Among the age groups, the largest percentage of abusers was between 18 and 25, which is typical of most drugs.

People abusing prescription drugs often get them from a friend or relative’s prescription, or participate in what is known as ‘doctor shopping’, which is going from one doctor to another with the same complaint to receive several prescriptions.

It has also been found, especially with narcotic painkillers such as Vicodin, Lortab, Oxycontin, etc. that there continues to be a growing illicit market for such drugs.

On our toll-free help lines, we get calls nearly every day from all over the country of people trying to break free from an addiction to painkillers, many of them starting with a legitimate prescription for an accident or injury.

The problem is that these drugs are so addictive that even some very well-intended people wind up becoming physically dependent on such substances. From there it can develop into a full-blown addiction, complete with all of the “normal” drug-seeking behavior and their world begins to crash down upon them.

Do you know of someone who wound up dependent on prescription painkillers? If so, how did it start for them?

Article by Eric

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Earlier in the week we talked about the issue of driving under the influence of other drugs besides alcohol. One of the cautionary points included sleeping medication – sedative drugs such as Ambien, Restoril and Lunesta.

Just a couple of days ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that all manufacturers of these types of drugs strengthen their product labeling to include stronger language concerning potential risks. These risks include severe allergic reactions and complex sleep-related behaviors, which may include sleep-driving. Sleep driving is defined as driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event.

Steven Galson, M.D., MPH, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research was quoted in an FDA release as saying, “…after reviewing the available post-marketing adverse event information for these products, FDA concluded that labeling changes are necessary to inform health care providers and consumers about risks.”

Other recorded incidents from taking these drugs included making phone calls and even cooking and eating – all with no recollection afterward due to the hypnotic state.

The medications that are the focus of the revised FDA labeling include the following 13 products:
Ambien/Ambien CR (Sanofi Aventis)
Butisol Sodium (Medpointe Pharm HLC)
Carbrital (Parke-Davis)
Dalmane (Valeant Pharm)
Doral (Questcor Pharms)
Halcion (Pharmacia & Upjohn)
Lunesta (Sepracor)
Placidyl (Abbott)
Prosom (Abbott)
Restoril (Tyco Healthcare)
Rozerem (Takeda)
Seconal (Lilly)
Sonata (King Pharmaceuticals)

Aside from individuals asking for and receiving prescriptions from their doctors for these drugs, especially when seeing the clever marketing campaigns on television, more than a quarter million people used the drug non-medically in 2004. Nearly 60 percent of people who used these drugs without prescriptions said they got them from a friend or relative for free.

Despite some of these drugs seeming relatively benign in concept and promotion, this is yet another example of dangerous side effects being found after being released on the market.

Do you have any examples of things like this happening to people you know?

Article by Eric

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Prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug abuse continues to spread throughout America. According to some recent surveys though, most parents aren’t aware that ten percent of kids (2.4 million) have tried abusing cough medicines that contain dextromethorphan (DXM).

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) recently launched a new campaign designed to educate communities about how to prevent cough medicine abuse among teenagers. The alliance produced a website called Dose of Prevention and released a toolkit that is designed to arm parents, educators, retailers, healthcare providers, law enforcement officials, and other community leaders with critical information to address the problem of cough medicine abuse.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), an estimated 12,584 emergency department visits in 2004 involved pharmaceuticals containing DXM. Nearly half of these visits involved young people between the ages of 12 and 20.

A 6-year retrospective study from 1999 to 2004 of the California Poison Control System showed a 10-fold increase in the rate of DXM abuse cases in all ages and a 15-fold increase in the rate of cases in adolescents, accounting for about 75% of all of the cases.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) has members who make the cough medicines containing DXM. Do you think their recent efforts after such a huge increase are enough, or should some other regulatory agency step in?

Article by Eric

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The American Medical Association (AMA) has been placing targeted ads in college publications asking them to “Stop the Madness” with regards to taking money from the alcohol beverage industry for ads during college athletics.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) responded to the ad by saying that reports show the age of people watching events such as the NCAA basketball tournament are largely adults, and they are limited to only one commercial per hour.

Is this a true enough statement to ignore the issue, or is it simply a justification for the money these schools get in return, which can range from the thousands to the millions, for alcohol-related sponsors?

The AMA maintains that alcohol ads undermine efforts to prevent campus binge drinking and alcohol-related deaths, accidents and sexual assaults.

“Universities have finally gotten past the `bad apple’ theory — that it’s just a few students,” said Laurie Leiber, spokeswoman for the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog group in California. “They’re trying to get away from an alcohol-saturated environment.”

The new mood comes as public awareness of binge drinking on campuses has heightened in recent years. Colleges have come under fire for largely turning a blind eye to abusive drinking on their campuses, often by underage students.

Statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health report that over 7 million young people under the age of 21 are current binge drinkers, which is defined as having five or more drinks on the same occasion in the past month.

In addition, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) concluded that 30 percent of Americans aged 18-20 were binge drinkers in the past month. Frequent binge drinkers were eight times more likely than non-binge drinkers to miss a class, fall behind in schoolwork, get hurt or injured, and damage property.

College campuses have been notorious for heavy alcohol consumption, and in recent years several schools made national headlines because of deaths on campus due to alcohol poisoning.

Does it really have to come to a point where kids are dying before colleges take a stand?

Article by Eric

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