Prescription drug abuse is fastest-growing drug problem in country

[marmar]

from the Chicago Sun-Times:




Prescription drug abuse is fastest-growing drug problem in country
By MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter/[e-mail] Dec 25, 2010 04:49PM


David and Gail Katz thought their 25-year-old son Daniel had finally turned the corner on his addiction to prescription painkillers after a year and a half of sobriety.

Then, over a two-week period in 2007, Daniel’s drug use suddenly “spiraled out of control,” his parents said.

On June 15, 2007, Daniel, a well-liked former hockey player, died at his best friend’s house after overdosing on OxyContin and cocaine.

“We heard that he had told his girlfriend that he wanted to start again and turn his life around and that night, he overdosed,” Gail Katz said.

Some think it’s harmless

The Katzes think Daniel started abusing painkillers in college after experimenting with marijuana and alcohol in high school. Though they sought treatment for him several times, Daniel “just couldn’t stay sober,” Gail Katz said. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.suntimes.com/2989811-417/drug-abuse-prescription-drugs-pain.html

[DesertFlower]

1. my doc retired last year. my new primary

won't write prescriptions for pain meds. sends you to a pain doc.

[KT2000]

4. and then the pain docs

are raided by various government agencies.
They are few and far between as well.
What I don't get is that even if a person in pain becomes addicted, they are advertising drugs on tv that may cause addiction, death, infection, TB and more. When is a side effect a ho hum run of the mill consequence or a socially unacceptable addiction and criminal act.
Lucky I don't have pain issues so far.

[pitohui]

2. what would you like to accomplish with this post?

because in my circle what "prescription drug hysteria" has accomplished is to guarantee that good people w. chronic pain/terminal cancer have died begging and screaming for mercy

at some point we have to let drug addicts do what drug addicts do, by making doctors unwilling to prescribe pain killers we don't punish drug addicts -- they are willing to kill and steal to get their fix --when doctors are unwilling to prescribe pain killers we punish sick and dying people

and i for one am dam tired of it

[marmar]

3. This article is going to accomplish all that? Amazing.

nt

[KT2000]

5. Agree n/t

[jwirr]

6. There is the other side: tonight my grandson and his girlfriend are

"recovering" and their two small children are totally dependent on them. I put the word in parenthesis because I do not KNOW that they are really doing what they need to do. Yes, you need drugs for pain but those children need responsible adults caring for them. By the way my grandson was run over by his girlfriend and his hip was broken in six places - we the family told the doctor that he was addicted to pain meds. They just kept giving them to him.