Posts Tagged Prescription Drug Abuse

Taking Too Many Medications Could Lead to Health Risks

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Facts on November 6th, 2011

The term polypharmacy pertains to the use of multiple medications to treat one’s illness. Most of the time, this multiple medication offer much more than what a person actually needs to get better.

too many medsThis is why there is a growing concern among doctors and pharmacists on the habit of people taking too many medications which could also lead to health risks. Yes, medicines could help prevent and cure diseases — but as they always say, anything in excess could be harmful.

American Pharmacists Association spokesperson Sophia De Monte explains the phenomenon of polypharmacy. “As you keep increasing the amount of prescriptions, it increases the chance of having a drug interaction or major side effect. It’s exponential. The more you add on, the more chances you’ll have something bad happen.”

This is why doctors and pharmacists are working together to safeguard their patient’s health. Prescriptions given by doctors are kept at a minimum, and pharmacists review these prescriptions when patients purchase from them.

“The whole goal is to try to fine-tune it,” De Monte said, “working with the patient to get the best medication with the best effects at the minimal amount.”

Some important steps have been shared by professionals to ensure that taking multiple medications will lead to cure, and not to more medical problems.

a. Patients should read information with regards to their medication to be wary of the possible complications that could arise from taking the said medicines.

b. It’s best to take medications with water rather than any other beverage to prevent further interaction.

c. Never disregard any discomfort that you might experience after taking new medication. Consult your health care provider immediately.

d. Have your doctor or pharmacists review your prescriptions.

The most important factor to consider in polypharmacy is the patient’s present condition and how the medications make the patient feel.

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Prescription Drug Abuse Leads to Law Enforcement Problems

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction on March 1st, 2011

Due to the continuing increase in the number of people on prescription drug abuse and addiction, a string of recent pharmacy robberies have been manifesting in Colorado, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

A feature on Denver Post shares that these pharmacy robberies have been linked to the “Hooded Pain-Med Bandit,” a young, dark-haired man with a gun tucked in his waistband. The robber has been to three Walgreen pharmacies in Wheat Ridge and Arvada since December last year. The latest to be reported was just this February 12th in Arvada where the bandit supposedly lifted his shirt and flashed the gun on the pharmacist. The poor pharmacist was ordered to hand over all the painkillers that they had. In his previous activity at Wheat Ridge, he ordered all of the Oxycontin and Vicodin to be given to him.

OxyContin“Obviously, this is concerning because an addict, or someone desperate, who is trying to steal narcotics is also armed,” Arvada police Cmdr. Aaron Jacks said.

Cases of prescription drug abuse in Colorado have increased by 95% in almost a decade. There were 228 deaths in the state linked to prescription drugs in 2000, and by 2009, 445people have died from painkiller abuse.

Special agent Kevin Merrill, acting OIC of DEA’s Denver division also noted that 70% of all recorded drug-related deaths can be attributed to painkillers. “For some reason, the society today has an appetite for pain-killing drugs,” Merrill said. “These painkillers are very, very potent and much more potent than your normal morphine. A lot of these painkillers were made for people who have terminal cancer or major invasive surgery. They are not made for long-term relief.”

Some pharmacies have taken their steps to prevent robberies by not partaking in the sale of narcotic drugs, and some even carry signs that say “We do not carry Oxycontin. Don’t break our door down. We don’t have them.”

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Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force Formed in Ohio

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Abuse Prevention, Prescription Drug Abuse on February 25th, 2011

Ohio Governor John Kasich has implemented the formation of a new task force to handle prescription drug abuse as advised by a former attorney general, according to a feature in nbci4.com. The state also provided extra funding for a treatment center and an executive order allowing the state’s local treatment partners to use new medication in dealing with heavy opiate addiction.

prescription drug abuseIn Ohio, drug overdoses accounted for most of the fatal car crashes since 2007. Latest figures also show that about 1,300 people have died due to accidental drug overdoses in 2009 alone.

The governor said that everything that has been newly implemented in his state are all for the continuing battle of prescription drug abuse which is concentrated in the troubled Scioto County after he had meetings with officials and treatment advisors. He said that last year, his office gave out a massive 9.7 million doses of prescription pain killers – the equivalent of 123 doses for each resident, all in Scioto County.

In his interview with the Portsmouth Daily Times, Kasich said that the people in Scioto County “are ready, willing, and able to launch this battle to win this war on prescription drugs. We believe if we can win it in Scioto County, then we can spread it throughout all of Ohio,” he said. “If we can make gains in Ohio, this will allow us to be engaged nationally. Failure is not an option in Scioto County.”

The state of Ohio will be releasing $100,000 for the development of a new halfway house and outpatient treatment facility at the non-profit Counseling Center in Portsmouth. Officials are still seeking to add $300,000 in federal funds for the same project.

An emergency executive order was also signed by the governor allowing treatment options to be expanded by treatment providers using the medications approved by the FDA to help treat people with opiates addiction.

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North Carolina Sheriffs Asking for Access to Prescription Database

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 10th, 2010

A feature on the News Observer shared a request from North Carolina sheriffs, as they try to find ways to curb prescription drug abuse in the state.

The North Carolina sheriff’s association asked on Tuesday that they be given access to state computer records that contains information on patients who have prescriptions for controlled substances, including powerful painkillers. The database is currently being used mainly by doctors and pharmacists, in an effort to catch patients who may be doctor-shopping for prescription drugs, and in order to prevent pharmacists from filling too many prescriptions for any single patient.

prescription drugsAccording to the state Department of Health and Human Services, around 30 percent of North Carolina residents received at least one prescription for such controlled substances as Ambien and Oxycontin in the first half of 2010. Almost 2.5 million patients filled prescriptions that reached 375 million doses in the same time frame. The database that the sheriff’s association is trying to gain access to contains 53.5 million prescriptions.

The request for access was made by the state sheriffs before the legislative health care committee in an effort to find more ways to curb prescription drug abuse. Lee County Sheriff Tracy L. Carter said that making the database available to them will enable them to “better go after those who are abusing the system.”

There are patient advocates, however, who are not sold on the idea, mainly due to privacy concerns. A compromise was presented by William Bronson of the drug control unit of the DHHS, who suggested that information may be requested for by drug investigators for ongoing investigations; they will not, however, be allowed to access the database by themselves.

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San Diego County Sheriff’s Department versus Prescription Drug Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Prescription Drug Abuse on September 6th, 2010

Prescription drug abuse has become a persistent problem across the country, which is why towns, cities and counties are embarking on efforts to curb it. One of the ways through which this is done is by organizing prescription drug take-back events.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is no exception.

prescription drugsRecognizing the fact that teenagers point to medicine cabinets at home as a source of prescription drugs, the Department organizes Prescription Drug Take Back Days – although the next event has not yet been scheduled. The Department is currently working on installing secure drop-boxes at their facilities, where unwanted prescription drugs can be dropped off. Until those sites are ready, however, residents can be dropped off during business hours at the Sheriff’s headquarters office at 9621 Ridgehaven Ct., in San Diego.

The Sheriff’s Department shares further that it has identified OxyContin as the drug of choice for teens and young adults aged 14 to 30. These young people get their OxyContin from street level dealers in the country as well as in Mexico, or over the Internet. Some neighborhoods have been identified as abuse “hotspots”: Torrey Pines, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, and Tierrasanta.

The San Diego County Sheriff website also contains information that may be useful to parents, such as the common slang terms that are used by teens to refer to certain prescription drugs of abuse, as well as warning signs for abuse that parents should watch out for. Among these signs are drop in academic performance, a seeming loss of motivation, fatigue, and having problems with money.

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FDA on Reducing Use of Prescription Painkillers

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Prescription Drug Abuse on July 26th, 2010

The proposal of the Food and Drug Administration that aims to reduce the abuse and misuse of pain medication such as OxyContin has been rejected by an advisory committee, according to a feature on The New York Times.

prescription pillsThe committee voted 25 to 10 against the plan. This advisory panel included doctors and pain experts, and one of the reasons for the rejection was that the panel felt that the plan lacked a stipulation requiring doctors to undergo training on the appropriate use of prescription narcotics. This rendered the plan as weak in terms of controlling the use of such drugs.

Drugs such as OxyContin, fentanyl and methadone are considered as important in pain management; however, these are the same drugs involved prescription drug abuse, and have also been linked to deaths due to overdose. It is for this reason that the FDA, as well as the drug industry, worked together to draw up a plan to reduce the misuse and abuse of these medications.

Dr. John K. Jenkins, director of the office of new drugs at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA, shared that the concern of the advisory panel lay in the “voluntary nature of the training requirements” for doctors.

It was said that the FDA had initially planned on stipulating mandatory training for those who intend to prescribe the drugs. The agency, however, was concerned about the fact that they only had the authority to require drug manufacturers to provide training. Another concern for the agency was that some doctors may choose to simply stop prescribing the drugs if they find mandatory trainings too tedious, thereby limiting the options of patients who may need them.

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