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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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Researchers are looking at new ways to help patients who have methamphetamine addictions by using their cell phones to take pictures of medications to help with monitoring and compliance. 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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The nation is numbing itself with illicit prescription drugs and officials in many states are working frantically to slow the trend. Continue Reading
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National Physician Organizations On Board With Federal Plan to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse
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May 16, 2011Enthusiasm for federal initiatives to reduce prescription drug abuse problems is growing. Continue Reading
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At some point following treatment for substance abuse or co-occurring mental health disorder, whether it’s a few months or years afterward, there may be a time when you are ready to wean off prescribed medication. Of course, you’ll only do so under the direction and monitoring of your doctor, but when the time comes, you’ll want to take appropriate action to safely dispose of all those post-treatment medications.
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Director of the Office on National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Gil Kerlikowske spoke before the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse on Wednesday, September 22, calling the nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic a public health problem that “crosses all party lines, income levels, and races.”
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With prescription drug abuse on the rise, more states are taking extra measures to protect the public. As of July 2010, 44 states have either an operational prescription drug monitoring program (PMP) or have enacted legislation for a PMP. Some states have also implemented prescription drug mail-back programs, in which residents can return unused prescription medications to authorities using free return envelopes from their pharmacies. Now, several counties nationwide are making prescription lock boxes available to consumers so patients can prevent prescription drug abuse from happening in their own home.
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After the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that prescription drug abuse in the U.S. had risen by 400% within ten years, local and state governments are attempting to eradicate the epidemic with public resources such as drug take-back programs. In Maine—one of 15 U.S. states that experiences more prescription drug overdose deaths than vehicular fatalities—a model drug mail-back program is gaining national attention.
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The following article was written by Greg Risling of the Associated Press:
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Healthcare workers in California who have abused drugs will face more stringent guidelines, the state said last week.
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Prescription medication abuse is on the rise in New Jersey, where state data from the New Jersey Poison Information & Education System shows that reported poison incidences involving prescription and OTC medications have risen from 38 percent of all reported exposures in 2000 to 47.7 percent in 2008.
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At least 1.5 million preventable deaths occur each year as a result of prescription drug abuse, according to the
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The National Family Partnership (NFP) has declared October 27th "Lock Your Meds" Day–a call for parents to help prevent prescription drug abuse among children and teens.
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At Hobbs Pharmacy in Merritt Island, Florida, customers call ahead if they want to fill a prescription for OxyContin, as the powerful painkiller is not stored on site.
