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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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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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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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Many Canadians are living with continuous chronic pain or at the very least sporadic aches that may last up to six months or longer. Continue Reading
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Dentists Mistakenly Adding to the Abuse of Addictive Prescription Painkillers
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July 26, 2011Prescription painkiller addiction is an alarming trend in the US and dentists are unknowingly contributing to the abuse of certain painkillers that are known to be addictive. Continue Reading
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A recent murder/robbery in the state of New York claiming the lives of a pharmacist, clerk and two customers has drawn attention to a serious national trend. Continue Reading
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Growth in High-Speed Internet Access Linked to Rise in Illegal Pharmacies Selling Controlled Substances
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May 25, 2011Can’t get a prescription for a painkiller from a physician? Many people are turning to the Internet, where addiction-prone medications may be just one illegal click away. Continue Reading
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It’s no secret that America has a dirty little problem with prescription painkillers. The problem has gotten so out of hand that the Obama administration has deemed the issue an epidemic, Continue Reading
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Do you know what’s in the painkillers you buy over the counter? According to a new study, many Americans are confused about the ingredients of popular painkillers. This greatly increases the risk of overdosing or combining pills that shouldn’t mix.
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Thefts, Armed Robberies of Painkillers Cause Some Pharmacies to Stop Carrying the Medications
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April 20, 2011The addictive nature of prescription opiate painkillers, such as OxyContin, can create a deadly scenario – not only for the risk of side effects of overdose when abused, but by giving some addicts a drive to have the drug so strong they’re willing to commit violent crimes to get it. Continue Reading
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The growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse throughout the United States is driven in part by practitioners who are not taking the necessary steps to keep prescription medications out of the hands of those who are simply abusing them. In fact, according to this Science Daily release, some physicians are prescribing opioids to patients 55 times as often as others. Continue Reading
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The fact that prescription drugs are an abuse problem is not necessarily news, but with the problem getting bigger in the United States, there are some who are asking where is the oversight to try and eliminate this problem.
This was the focus in a recent Chron report as the U.S. consumes 70 percent of the world’s opiate production. At the same time, Americans are dying of overdoses from these drugs at a rate that is considered to be epidemic.
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Many people have trouble coping with stress. However, the tensions that our soldiers face on a daily basis may seem insurmountable. Some are torn from their families and are sent thousands of miles away to an unfamiliar culture. Inexperienced and young, they are taken from their creature comforts and are planted in countries with harsh terrain and unfriendly surroundings. Others return, struggling from physical injuries, or possibly worse – emotional distress. For these, numbing themselves may seem the only way out.
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It is common knowledge that pain killers tend to be some of the most abused prescription medications available today. Opioids, specifically are some of the worst with regard to habit formation, leading to addiction. Opioids are part of a group of pain killers that include the likes of Vicodin, OxyContin, and Percocet that work by suppressing the perception of pain in the central nervous system. Recipients develop an increased pain tolerance. The drugs also produce a sense of euphoria that lends itself to dependency.
