About 50 Americans die every day from a prescription drug overdose

[tru_m.a.c]

Prescription Drug Abuse: Strategies to Stop the Epidemic finds that 28 states and Washington, D.C. scored six or less out of 10 possible indicators of promising strategies to help curb prescription drug abuse. Two states, New Mexico and Vermont, got the highest score, receiving all 10 possible indicators, while South Dakota scored the lowest with two out of 10.

According to the report, prescription drug abuse has quickly become a top public health concern, as the number of drug overdose deaths - a majority of which are from prescription drugs - doubled in 29 states since 1999. The rates quadrupled in four of these states and tripled in 10 more of these states.

Prescription drug related deaths now outnumber those from heroin and cocaine combined, and drug overdose deaths exceed motor vehicle-related deaths in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs costs the country an estimated $53.4 billion a year in lost productivity, medical costs and criminal justice costs, and currently only one in 10 Americans with a substance abuse disorder receives treatment.

Some key findings from the report include:

• Appalachia and Southwest Have the Highest Overdose Death Rates: West Virginia had the highest number of drug overdose deaths, at 28.9 per every 100,000 people - a 605 percent increase from 1999, when the rate was only 4.1 per every 100,000. North Dakota had the lowest rate at 3.4 per every 100,000 people. Rates are lowest in the Midwestern states.
• Rescue Drug Laws: Just over one-third of states (17 and Washington, D.C.) have a law in place to expand access to, and use of naloxone - a prescription drug that can be effective in counteracting an overdose - by lay administrators.
• Good Samaritan Laws: Just over one-third of states (17 and Washington, D.C.) have laws in place to provide a degree of immunity from criminal charges or mitigation of sentencing for individuals seeking to help themselves or others experiencing an overdose.
• Medical Provider Education Laws: Fewer than half of states (22) have laws that require or recommend education for doctor and other healthcare providers who prescribe prescription pain medication.
• Support for Substance Abuse Treatment: Nearly half of states (24 and Washington, D.C.) are participating in Medicaid Expansion - which helps expand coverage of substance abuse services and treatment.
• ID Requirement: 32 states have a law requiring or permitting a pharmacist to require an ID prior to dispensing a controlled substance.
• Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: While nearly every state (49) has a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) to help identify "doctor shoppers," problem prescribers and individuals in need of treatment, these programs vary dramatically in funding, use and capabilities. For instance, only 16 states require medical providers to use PMDPs.

 

[tru_m.a.c]

Key recommendations from the report include:

• Educate the public to understand the risks of prescription drug use to avoid misuse in the first place;
• Ensure responsible prescribing practices, including increasing education of healthcare providers and prescribers to better understand how medications can be misused and to identify patients in need of treatment;
• Increase understanding about safe storage of medication and proper disposal of unused medications, such as through "take back" programs;
• Make sure patients do receive the pain and other medications they need, and that patients have access to safe and effective drugs;
• Improve, modernize and fully-fund Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, so they are real-time, interstate and incorporated into Electronic Health Records, to quickly identify patients in need of treatment and connect them with appropriate care and identify doctor shoppers and problem prescribers;
• Make rescue medications more widely available by increasing access for at-risk individuals to naloxone and provide immunity for individuals and others seeking help; and
• Expand access to and availability of effective treatment options as a key component of any strategy to combat prescription drug abuse.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nationally, sales of prescription painkillers per capita have quadrupled since 1999 - and the number of fatal poisonings due to prescription painkillers has also quadrupled. Enough prescription painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult continually for a month.

The report was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Score Summary: For the state-by-state scoring, states received one point for achieving an indicator or zero points if they did not achieve the indicator. Zero is the lowest possible overall score, 10 is the highest. Data for the indicators were drawn from a number of sources, including the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Alliance of States with Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, the National Conference of State Legislators, the Network for Public Health Law, the Kaiser Family Foundation and a review of current state legislation and regulations by TFAH. In August 2013, state health departments were provided with opportunity to review and revise their information.

10 out of 10: New Mexico and Vermont
9 out of 10: Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York and Washington
8 out of 10: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and West Virginia
7 out of 10: Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee and Virginia
6 out of 10: Arkansas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Utah
5 out of 10: Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina
4 out of 10: Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming
3 out of 10: Missouri and Nebraska
2 out of 10: South Dakota

STATE-BY-STATE DRUG OVERDOSE MORTALITY RANKINGS
Note: Rates include total drug overdose mortality rates, the majority of which are from prescription drugs. 1 = Highest rate of drug overdose fatalities, 51 = lowest rate of drug overdose fatalities. Rankings are based on data from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, WONDER Online Database, 2010. The numbers are based on the number of people per 100,000.

1. West Virginia**** (28.9); 2. New Mexico (23.8); 3. Kentucky**** (23.6); 4. Nevada (20.7); 5. Oklahoma*** (19.4); 6. Arizona (17.5); 7. Missouri*** (17); 8. (tie) Tennessee** and Utah (16.9); 10. Delaware** (16.6); 11. Florida** (16.4); 12. Ohio*** (16.1); 13. Rhode Island** (15.5); 14. Pennsylvania (15.3); 15. Wyoming*** (15); 16. South Carolina*** (14.6); 17. Indiana**** (14.4); 18. Michigan*** (13.9); 19. Louisiana*** (13.2); 20. Washington (13.1); 21. (tie) District of Columbia and Montana** and Oregon** (12.9); 24. Colorado (12.7); 25. Arkansas** (12.5); 26. (tie) Alabama*** and Idaho** and New Hampshire** (11.8); 29. Alaska (11.6); 30. (tie) Mississippi***and North Carolina** (11.4); 32. (tie) Maryland and Massachusetts (11); 34. (tie) Hawaii and Wisconsin** (10.9); 36. Georgia*** (10.7); 37. California (10.6); 38. Maine (10.4); 39. Connecticut (10.1); 40. Illinois (10); 41. New Jersey (9.8); 42. Vermont** (9.7); 43. (tie) Kansas** and Texas (9.6); 45. Iowa**** (8.6); 46. New York (7.8); 47. Minnesota** (7.3); 48. Virginia (6.8); 49. Nebraska** (6.7); 50. South Dakota (6.3); 51. North Dakota (3.4).

** Drug Overdose Mortality Rates doubled from 1999 to 2010
*** Drug Overdose Mortality Rates tripled from 1999 to 2010
**** Drug Overdose Mortality Rates quadrupled from 1999 to 2010

http://tfah.org/reports/drugabuse2013/

 

[tru_m.a.c]

Obama Administration Urges Cops To Help Save Lives By Treating Heroin Overdoses

On Tuesday, the Obama administration encouraged law enforcement officials across the country to start carrying naloxone, a drug that can reverse overdoses from heroin and prescription pain killers. Naloxone helps an individual remain breathing even after they’ve introduced a high level of opioids to their system.

Naloxone has been used in emergency departments for years. But since police officers are often the first on the scene when an individual is overdosing, equipping them with naloxone can be a critical method of expanding early access to the lifesaving prescription drug. Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, first began calling for the widespread use of the overdose reversal drug back in 2012.

On a conference call on Tuesday, Kerlikowske reiterated that position — and noted that combating the rise of drug overdose deaths requires a serious public health response, not necessarily a criminal justice crackdown. “We cannot arrest our way out of the drug problem,” Kerlikowske explained. “Drug addiction is a disease of the brain — a disease that can be prevented, treated, and from which one can recover.”

A handful of states have already begun to expand police officers’ and first responders’ access to naloxone, a trend that the White House is encouraging more states to continue. Allowing cops to carry nalaxone is most effective when coupled with “Good Samaritan” laws, which ensure criminal protection for the people seeking medical help for someone who’s at risk of overdosing. Not every state has that combination on the books yet, though:

 

[tru_m.a.c]

Maine’s Governor Prepares To Restrict Access To Lifesaving Drug That Can Prevent Heroin Overdoses

This week, the Obama administration called on states to ease access to naloxone, a lifesaving prescription drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Federal drug officials noted that the number of deaths resulting from prescription drugs and heroin is a huge public health crisis, and requires a serious response. But not every public official is ready to heed that call.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), who has consistently opposed efforts to broaden the use of naloxone, appears to be ready to shoot down yet another piece of legislation on the subject.

On Wednesday, the state legislature is holding a hearing on a bill that would allow police officers, first responders, and the family members of people struggling with opiate addiction to have access to naloxone. But State Rep. Sara Gideon (D), the primary sponsor of the legislation, told the Huffington Post that the governor’s chief health policy adviser has already indicated that LePage won’t support the measure.

“His main objection is his belief — and I have to emphasize ‘his belief’ because there is no evidence that supports this at all — his belief that increasing the availability of Narcan or naloxone will lead the drug user or drug abuser to have this feeling of invincibility,” Gideonexplained.

In fact, a wide body of research has found that naloxone and is a safe and cost-effectivemethod of preventing deaths. The American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, and the World Health Organization all support policies to expand access to the drug in the very same ways that Gideon’s bill proposes. The director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, first began calling for wider access to naloxone back in 2012.

On Tuesday, Kerlikowske explicitly endorsed legislation like Gideon’s, pointing out that law enforcement has a critical role in preventing overdose deaths. “We cannot arrest our way out of the drug problem,” the nation’s top drug official said.

LePage appears to disagree. The GOP leader has taken a hardline stance against drug use during his time in office, one that sharply diverges from his fellow governors in the New England area. As a growing heroin abuse problem continues to plague Northeastern states, the top officials in Vermont and New Hampshire have pledged to dedicate more resources to treatment and intervention. But LePage has favored enforcement over treatment, emphasizing the need to arrest and prosecute drug offenders.

Although LePage has promised to hire 14 additional agents for Maine’s Drug Enforcement Agency — a move that will cost about $1 million — he has repeatedly cut funding for substance abuse programs that are intended to provide treatment to low-income residents struggling with addiction. For several years in a row, he’s proposed budgets that include big cuts to substance abuse services, and some clinics are warning that they’re now on the brink of being forced to close. He also approved a policy change to Maine’s Medicaid program that cuts off coverage for substance abuse treatment after two years.

“We all know that we have an opioid abuse epidemic in Maine and implementing barriers to treatment is not going to help the problem,” Alane O’Connor, a nurse in the state who prescribes drugs intended to help with opiate addictions, told the Morning Sentinel after the new Medicaid policy took effect at the end of last year.

Last year, LePage also rejected a bill that would have increased medical assistance in the case of a drug overdose by ensuring that the people who seek out help can’t get in trouble with the law.

Meanwhile, heroin deaths are on the rise in Maine. Three times as many people died from heroin overdoses in 2012 than in 2011. Last summer, the deputy fire chief in Portland said that his team was responding to up to four overdose calls every week.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Link?


and what drugs??????

 

[Tommy Knocks]

Link?


and what drugs??????

Im almost certain its hydrocodones, vicodins. basically opiates.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Im almost certain its hydrocodones, vicodins. basically opiates.

I had a crazy night a few months back. Weed, molly, coke........ my homie gave me 4 oxys that he got from a relative who gets them from the govt for free because hes a war vet or some shyt.

I took the shyt and felt great


Just happy and optimistic about everything


Woke up.....cause I had a date that night........felt a bit weird and dizzy.


Tried to drink coffee

Tried to eat crackers


I threw up blood

I couldnt keep down shyt the whole night.........



Im too afraid to try that shyt again.

 

[Tommy Knocks]

I had a crazy night a few months back. Weed, molly, coke........ my homie gave me 4 oxys that he got from a relative who gets them from the govt for free because hes a war vet or some shyt.

I took the shyt and felt great


Just happy and optimistic about everything


Woke up.....cause I had a date that night........felt a bit weird and dizzy.


Tried to drink coffee

Tried to eat crackers


I threw up blood

I couldnt keep down shyt the whole night.........



Im too afraid to try that shyt again.

You took 4 at once?

I dont think it was the oxy tbh, might have been the coke, drip back you swallowed.

I was on vics for a sec, the feeling is def euphoric which is why folks get addicted...but its not only that..its the withdraw. man oh man that withdraw is bad, real bad. be feeling like <~ makes it hard to stop. i could stop cigs before I stopped that shyt, that bad boy will suck you in.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

You took 4 at once?

I dont think it was the oxy tbh, might have been the coke, drip back you swallowed.

I was on vics for a sec, the feeling is def euphoric which is why folks get addicted...but its not only that..its the withdraw. man oh man that withdraw is bad, real bad. be feeling like <~ makes it hard to stop. i could stop cigs before I stopped that shyt, that bad boy will suck you in.

maybe but i never threw up blood before it was the most fukked up feeling i ever felt in my life. I literally though that I might die,


Not fukking with those shyts ever again.

I didnt take 4 at once I took 2 with my homie, Took 1 on my my way home and I think i took one before I went to bed.

 

[ch15x]

The last time I touched any prescription was when someone gave me a pill (for depression?). It felt more like suppression. Just the inkling of any bad vibe I had mentally felt like a vice grip clamping down on my brain. I can't picture what OD'ing is...:cozeww:

 

[88m3]

I saw this a lot growing up. It's a serious problem, stay away from pills, brehs


Not sure how this will get "fixed". People basically want an out in life and they think this is it, then they find heroin and then they really have found their way out of life.

 

[Serious]

You took 4 at once?

I dont think it was the oxy tbh, might have been the coke, drip back you swallowed.

I was on vics for a sec, the feeling is def euphoric which is why folks get addicted...but its not only that..its the withdraw. man oh man that withdraw is bad, real bad. be feeling like <~ makes it hard to stop. i could stop cigs before I stopped that shyt, that bad boy will suck you in.

word? I have stable of Vics on dec from a few procedures and I never felt the need to continuously pop them after my pain was gone...