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Recent Report Shows Holes in Government Efforts to Combat Prescription Drug Abuse
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February 2, 2012The Government Accountability Office released a new report showing problems with federal agencies and their efforts to track education on the serious risks of prescription painkiller abuse, according to a recent blog post. The government is trying to crack down on this problem which has become an overwhelming epidemic here in the United States. Continue Reading
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A Doctor’s Dilemma: Treating a Patient’s Pain Without Overprescribing Pain Medication
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January 25, 2012The Wong-Baker pain scale chart graces medical offices around the country. The scale’s cartoon faces range from a broad smile (0 pain) to a face with tears (10 pain). Medical providers use the scale to help their patients describe the intensity of their pain. Continue Reading
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A Rise in Crime Causes State Lawmakers to Rally for Stricter Prescription Drug Laws
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January 19, 2012Recent pharmacy shootings around the country are causing state lawmakers to demand stricter guidelines for some pain medicines. United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is already asking several federally-regulated agencies to look at restrictions on opiates, specifically hydrocodone. Continue Reading
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Years ago employers sought the support of the U.S. Supreme Court in their effort to randomly test employees for evidence of illegal drug use – and they got it. Today, employers have another concern to deal with. The abuse of prescription medications has not occurred only at home and in colleges – it is impacting the U.S. workplace and with alarming results. Continue Reading
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Black market sales for OxyContin continue to spike, with recent reports demonstrating skyrocketing street prices for prescription painkillers as they continue to feed the illegal industry. The rising prices of black market prescriptions are also an indicator of rapidly rising demand and increasing abuse levels nationally, causing experts to state that prescription drugs are the new "gateway" drug to addiction. Continue Reading
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Prescription Opioid Overdose Kills More than Heroin and Cocaine Overdoses Combined
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November 29, 2011The rate of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. has tripled since 1991, with most of these drug-related deaths caused by prescription drugs, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Continue Reading
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Seniors Taking Multiple Prescriptions Are at Risk for Prescription Drug Abuse
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November 22, 2011Over a 10-year period, from 1997-2008, prescription medications and illicit drug use increased by 96 percent for those aged 65 to 85 and by 87 percent for seniors over 85, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Continue Reading
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For the first time in U.S. history, the number of people who died from narcotic drugs is greater than the number who died in car crashes. A new study found that in 2009, the most recent year for such statistics, 37,485 died from opioid drug complications, and 36,284 were automobile fatalities. In 1999, 13,800 died from opioids. Continue Reading
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The United States is in the middle of an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, and the federal government may turn out to be the country’s biggest drug supplier.
Young people who are abusing prescription drugs, most often opioid painkillers, tell researchers that the drugs are readily available from family and friends. Perhaps they are referring to their grandparents’ medicine cabinets. Continue Reading
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Abusing prescription drugs may be a precursor to using heroin and other injected substances, according to a new study in the International Journal of Drug Policy. Continue Reading
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The growing problem of prescription painkiller abuse was highlighted recently with the arrest of 37 people who were current or former Boeing employees at the company’s Philadelphia plant. Continue Reading
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The Wall Street Journal recently reported the findings from a study which assigned hard numbers to the country’s epidemic of prescription drug abuse and the issue of chronic pain management. According to the article, those two problems combine to cost taxpayers, employers and insurers upwards of $323 billion each year. Continue Reading
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Managing acute pain is all-important to those who suffer with chronic conditions such as cancer and arthritis. Finding the drug that will control pain and interact properly with other current conditions can sometimes feel like a chess game, deciding what may be sacrificed to protect the more valuable. Continue Reading
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Experts say one of the most disturbing trends they are now facing is the enormous increase in elderly needing treatment or intervention for addictions to prescription medications. Continue Reading
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Growing Number of Doctors Facing Criminal Charges Over Prescription Drugs
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September 26, 2011U.S. physicians are facing more criminal charges due to their conduct in dispersing prescription drugs. The number of negligence cases overshadowing them shows a scary trend. Continue Reading
