Alcohol Drug Council Of North Carolina

Letter from the Director

Director’s Notes:  By Anne Doolen

Prescription Drug Misuse is on the Rise.

Addiction to painkillers can begin with legitimate use – treatment after an injury or following a surgical procedure.  Youth can access these drugs at home.  Kids may perceive them as safer or legal because they come from the healthcare system not the street.  During tough economic times, families sometimes “help” each other out sharing medications after someone gets hurt around the house.

 

In the first two months of 2012, the Alcohol Drug Council of NC received over 204 calls in which people were seeking help with an addiction to prescription medication.  This is a 15% increase from the previous two months (178 in November and December 2011).

 

Other reports have noted similar trends.

 

• In December, that National Institute on Drug Abuse released data from their 2011 Monitoring the Future Survey of 8^th, 10^th and 12^th  grades students.  While adolescent use of the drug Vicodin dropped – students reported using OxyContin at the same rate as the previous year.

 

• In a recent government study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this month reported 25-35% of wounded soldiers studied were addicted to prescriptions or illegal medications.

 

• From an SBI report released in November 2011, WRAL reported that law enforcement officials say prescription drug abuse surpasses all illegal drugs as the number one source of fatal overdoses in our state.

 

Medications are powerful combinations of chemicals.  They affect individuals differently.  Most individuals use these drugs as they are prescribed and develop no long term problems. People in recovery from alcoholism or drug addiction find pain control an especially challenging problem as their bodies may react differently and they face the serious concerns about whether prescription drugs used to treat a medical problem may place them at risk for relapse.  There is little relapse prevention available for individuals in recovery whose medical conditions require addictive prescriptive medication. There is inadequate life cycle appropriate treatment for older individuals.

 

This is not just a public sector or legal problem. We need all of the players including insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, the military, medical providers and addiction treatment provides to come together to establish a response that strengthens communities and individuals without the stigma that is usually assigned to addiction.