Prescription drugs on killing spree, abuse the cause

Prescription drug abuse is killing too many people

Prescription drug use, and abuse has been on a steady course of exposure for quite some time now, but it has been at the expense of entirely too many deaths. And those deaths are striking down young people like a bowling ball hitting pins.

It isn't just addicts abusing these drugs. Doctors are also abusing them by how freely they are prescribing them. That is the other side of the abuse coin. People who wouldn't normally become addicts in the classical sense of the word, are becoming strung out on these drugs, and many are dying.

Just to give you an idea of how bad the problem is, pharmacies in Broward County, Florida dispense over one million oxycodone pills per month says Sheriff Al Lamberti. Oxycodone is a narcotic painkiller and widely abused by many young people, as well as adults. Oxycodone is the opioid analgesic found in Percocets and Percodans. 

Painkiller overdose deaths gaining on traffic fatalities

The death of Heath Ledger at 28 in 2008 from a cocktail of 6 prescription drugs woke some people up about the dangers of abuse and addiction, as did Anna Nicole Smith, 39, who dropped in 2007 from a cocktail of 9 different prescription drugs. When King of Pop Michael Jackson, 50, died in June 2009 from the anesthetic drug propofol, and benzodiazepines, the whole world started to pay attention to the insidious tendrils of drug addiction that seem to ride a drug abuser's coat tails like some diseased surfer lying in wait for the chance to sink the knife in deep. Then DJ AM, 36, a well known disc jockey, fell a couple of months after Jackson, and had a cocktail of drugs in him according to the toxicology report. The turntable wizard had cocaine, OxyContin, hydrocodone, the antianxiety drugs Xanax and Ativan, Klonopin, Benadryl, and Levamisole in his system. A recent report was released warning cocaine users that the drug contained levamisole in it. Levamisole is an anti-parasitic agent used to treat livestock.

Ativan, a benzodiazepine, can increase the
effects of narcotics to the point of causing
death

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, pain relievers are the most widely diverted, and abused prescription drugs in America. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believes that most of these pain relievers are controlled prescription narcotics. Abusers use narcotic pain relievers for their euphoric effect. Tranquilizers, and sedatives are also abused, but are often used in combination with narcotic pain relievers because they increase the effects of narcotics. Narcotic pain relievers, tranquilizers, and sedatives are abused primarily by young adults aged 18 to 25. Adolescents (12 to 17 years of age) also compose a significant user group for these drugs. 

She died in my arms (graphic language)

Prescription stimulants are abused as well, but not as much as the narcotics. These drugs are used by young adults looking to enhance their academic, work, or athletic performance capabilities. In addition, teens and younger adults with ADHD may abuse that medication as well.

Narcotic pain relievers are the most widely
abused prescritpion drugs

The substantial increase in deaths among persons aged 15-24 years is consistent with increases in recreational prescription drug, and cocaine use among adolescents, and young adults says the Office of National Drug Control policy. And the problem just keeps on ticking like a psychotic watch.

Ken and Ester Scarborough lost a son recently to prescription drugs obtained from a Southeast Texas pill mill. This has hit the national spotlight as well, even though their son wasn't a celebirty. Dan Rather, the former CBS News anchor is getting involved in raising awareness of the prescription drug abuse epidemic. Unfortunately, many, many other unknowns are falling from this type of substance abuse, but people like the Scarborough's are doing whatever they can to put this on the front burner. 

Between 2001 and 2005, 35 thousand deaths have been attributed to prescription narcotic drug abuse according to the Office of Nationall Drug Control Policy in a report dated May 20, 2009. Since then, the problem has only gotten worse. 

Of course, not everyone who started on prescription drugs, the narcotics in particular, did so to escape reality. Their addiction was more iotrogenically induced as the result of some medical condition that needed pain relief, and the patient really didn't understand the full consequences of repeated injestion of these types of drugs. They may have consciously been aware of the addictive potential, but no one really believes that they will become the "classic" addict out ripping, and running commiting crimes. When addiction does set in for these people, they are basically at a loss for what to do, and can't help but feed the beast in order to stop from getting violently ill from withdrawals, like all narcotic, and benzodiazepine addicts end up eventually doing.

The fact is, there are really three types of addicts with wholly different mind-sets. There are those that started getting high to escape reality, and those who became addicted due to some medical condition. The third fall in between a combination of the two. None of them, however, are truly responsible for becoming addicts. But are they responsible after the fact? The problem is that these people usually lack the ability to do something about their drug addiction because that is the nature of the condition. The drugs alter brain chemistry in ways that keep them chasing the dragon. 

Prescription drug death of Kassie

If we don't start educating our kids sooner, in both the academic, and family settings, the problem will continue to get worse until, what? What are the acceptable levels of death regarding these types of situations? Of course, no deaths are acceptable, but what is it going to take to get Washington to loosen up some of the money being wasted in the so-called "war on drugs?" A good portion of this money would be better spent on prevention, treatment, and education.

So, before we have too many more Scaarboroughs, Jacksons, Smith's and other fatalities, maybe it's time to start throwing some resources at those in the field of addiction to help keep our youth from destroying themselves. Frankly, it's time those with the purse strings in the sponge-belt responsible for spreading money around for the war on drugs, spread some to help humanity maintain its supply of youth who will one day rule this country, and not from the grave. 

National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009 here

If you or a loved one needs help with any type of drug problem, contact these sites depending on where you live. SEMCA (Wayne County residents), CARE (Macomb County residents), PACE (Oakland County residents), Drug Free Detroit (City of Detroit residents).

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(Photo at top by LadyofProcrastinationwww.flickr.com/photos/23197541@N06/2282299197; Middle and bottom photos Wikimedia Commons- Public Domain)

Prescription drug abuse on a killing spree by Michael Velardo, aka Crash Test Addict is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.