Prescription Drug Abuse
21 articles
Microsoft Allows Illegal Online Pharmacies to Advertise on Bing
Microsoft is criticized for allowing illicit online pharmacies to advertise on its search engine pages.
Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths Skyrocket in Florida - Experts Blame Storefront Pain Clinics
Opiate pain medications caused 33% more overdose fatalities in 2008 than in 2007 – Experts point to Florida laws that allow for the easy prescribing of these potent medications. The top 25 oxycodone prescribing doctors in America are all Floridians.
People Prescribed High Doses of Opiates are 9 Times More Likely to OD
Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows a clear link between the dosage of opiates prescribed and fatal overdose risk (in 2006, 14 000 Americans died from a prescription opiate overdose and roughly 100 000 had a non fatal overdose.)
Pain Pill Abuse in Milwaukee Leads to an Increase in Heroin OD Deaths.
Law enforcement in Waukesha county say that they're seeing a lot of pain pill addicts graduating to the heroin - which can be as little as 1/4 the price of OxyContin.
Pain Expert Says Doctors Are Too Scared to Prescribe Medications – People Living in Pain
An expert in pain management from the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University says that millions of Americans are living in pain because doctors are afraid to prescribe sufficient pain killers.
Bush Urges Congress to Ban the Sale of Dangerous Prescription Drugs over the Internet
Although only an estimated 0.1% of prescription drug abusers buy these medications over the internet, George Bush would like to see an end to the internet retailing of dangerous medications.
Teen Campaign Against Deadly Abuse of Prescription Drugs
While adolescent substance abuse, teen drinking and teen smoking have all been in steady decline, over the past 10 years, prescription drug abuse is still on the rise among teenagers 12 – 17 years of age. 60% of American teenagers will have experimented with painkillers before the age of 15 - often, with tragic consequences.
Coming Soon - Abuse Resistant OxyContin
OxyContin, a potent opiate and one of America’s most often abused prescription medications, may soon come to market in tamper resistant plastic coated tablets that are designed to prevent abuse.
Thick, Soft and Gummy - Pharmaceutical Companies Hope to End Pain Pill Abuse with Gooey Pills
With an estimated 6 million people abusing pain pills daily and doctors hesitant to prescribe even to people with a legitimate need, pharmaceutical companies are soon to unveil new (and strange) abuse-free formulations.
85% of Online Pharmacies Sell Controlled Drugs Without Needing a Prescription
A Columbia University study on online drug retailing shows how easy it is to buy controlled drugs without the need of a prescription.
Troops Consuming More and More Painkillers
Top US Army medical officials have raised concerns about possible pain killer abuse and addiction among troops insured in Iraq. Prescriptions for pain-relievers to injured US troops have surged from 30,000 a month to 50,000 since the Iraq war began.
Floridians 3x More Likely to OD on Prescription Drugs Than Illicit Drugs
The abuse of prescription drugs is a big problem in Florida, and newly released DEA statistics show that prescription drug overdoses account for three times as many deaths as illicit drugs like cocaine or heroin.
Just how serious is OxyContin addiction? Pharmaceutical company fined over $630 million dollars for misleading the public on addiction risk
Since its introduction in 1995, the pain killer OxyContin has resulted in increasing patterns of abuse. It became one of the most powerful and most addictive street drugs and, for years, doctors prescribed the pain killer without knowing how addicting it really was. Hundreds of people have died as a direct result of their addiction to OxyContin.
Prescription Drugs Now Lead to as Many ER Visits as Illicit Drugs
About a million people a year visit hospital emergency rooms across the country after taking drugs like cocaine or heroin – and now, about a million people a year visit these same ERs after taking medications like Vicodin or OxyContin.
The Dangers of the Family Medicine Cabinet! Lawmakers Enlist Pharmacists to Fight Against Prescription Drug Diversion
Prescription medications supplied by the family medicine cabinet are often a teen’s introduction to hard drug abuse. Convincing people to safely dispose of these unused prescription medications is such a priority for Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller that he’s written a bill that proposes drop off points for outdated medications in every pharmacy in the state, hoping to supersede federal requirements that demand that a law officer be present to receive these types of medications.
In Appalachian Ohio – 1 in 10 Babies Born with OxyContin in Blood
Rural Ohio struggling to cope with opiate abuse and the tragedies that accompany it.
Scientists Working on Potent Non Addictive Analgesics Based on Marijuana-Like Chemical in the Brain
Need pain control but not sure about taking more opiates? Well, Italian and American scientists are working on a solution and they say that manipulating the activity of one of the body’s endogenous chemicals may prove the key to non-addictive pain control medications in the future.
Using Unnecessary Opiates after Low-Pain Surgery Increases Addiction Risk
Unless you really need strong pain relief, you’re probably better off without the opiate pain meds often prescribed after minor low-pain surgeries. In a recent Canadian study, about 10% of people given opiates they didn’t really need ended up addicted.
Opiate Use during Pregnancy Up 500% from a Decade Ago
University of Michigan researchers say that between 2000 and 2009 opiate use and dependency among pregnant women rose by almost 500% and the numbers of infants being born with neonatal abstinence syndrome rose by about 300%.
A Way to Produce Non-Addictive Opiates
By adding a medication called +Naloxone to opiates, researchers managed to "remove" intoxication and addiction while retaining their pain relieving properties.
States Allowing Medical Marijuana Report Fewer Opioid Overdose Fatalities
On average, states with medical marijuana programs saw a substantial drop (24.8%) in opioid overdose fatalities.