Alarming Increase in Prescription Pain Medication Abuse
Press Release 2010-11

According to figures from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration there has been a 400 percent increase in prescription painkiller abuse treatment in 10 years. The admissions for treatment for prescription drugs abuse such as Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and morphine cut across age, education, employment, race, and geography. 9.8 percent of the hospital admissions for substance abuse in 2008 involved painkillers which showed an increase of 2.2 percent from 1998.This increase was much higher than the increase in treatment admission rates for methamphetamine (doubled), and increase in marijuana abuse rate (half).The hospital admission rate due to prescription drug abuse was specially high for people aged 18 to 24 (13.7 percent of all admissions) in 2008, compared with 1.5 percent in 1998.

SAMHSA's Peter Delany, who oversaw production of the report calls this “a true public health problem". He said "Those are our employed people, making big decisions about life — Am I going to get married? What am I going to do for a living? What's my next job?"

SAMHSA also reports that more than 6 million Americans admitted to abusing prescription drugs in the month before they were surveyed, while 15.2 million said they used marijuana in the same time frame.

According to Thomas McLellan, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy said painkiller prescriptions increased between 700 to 1,000 percent over the 10 years. McLellan believes the reason is simply due to the increased availability. Fifty-six percent of the patients got their drugs from a friend or relative for free, and about 9 percent purchased them from an acquaintance.

Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy called the spikes in prescription drug abuse rates “dramatic, pervasive, and deeply disturbing”

If you or someone you know is struggling with drug abuse or addiction and is in need of help, Cove Center for Recovery - Addiction Treatment Center offers a flexible and affordable addiction treatment program. Our aim is to treat the whole person, and not just an isolated symptom. During the treatment process we will work with the client to identify the factors that may have contributed to you drug abuse – home, work, relationships and medical history. We also believe that families have a vital role to play in the recovery process, and each addiction treatment program has a place for family participation, to educate them in the treatment process and to equip them for their role as supporters.

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