How many more people need to drop dead from prescription overdoses or drug poisoning before the Federal Drug Administration Bureau (FDA) steps in and begins to examine the liberties that some doctors and patients are taking where dangerous prescription drugs are concerned? With the untimely and unfortunate death of actress Brittany Murphy speculations soar and questions are raised as to how a 32-year old woman drops dead suddenly for no apparent reason. In the last year we have lost Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, and Adam “DJ” Adam all to accidental prescription drug overdoses. Once toxicology reports are released the mystery surrounding Murphy’s death will be revealed, and it is no secret that many will not be overly surprised if prescription drug overdose is determined as the cause.

While the deaths of these young celebrities, and so many who have passed before them is sad, the reality is that this trend is not something that is merely happening in Hollywood. Look at the national and local statistics of increase in deaths that are related to prescription drug overdose. The increase in numbers is staggering.

A report released during July, 2009 showed that last year alone, at least 485 people died in Kentucky from prescription drug overdoses, according to the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Medical Examiners’ records indicate the drugs most commonly found in those death cases were methadone, the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone, alprazolam (Xanax), morphine, diazepam (Valium) and fentanyl.

“It’s an epidemic and I’m afraid we’re losing a whole generation,” said Beth Lewis Maze, the Chief Circuit Judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit in Kentucky. “These pain medications are so highly addictive that these young people are digging themselves a very deep hole.”

Multiple doctors, multiple prescriptions, friends and family members sharing prescriptions, people getting extra prescriptions for travel, and on and on. The list is endless! Anyone with half a brain should realize that there is a potential danger taking someone else’s medication, and/or mixing pills. This is about chemistry, and a physician looks at a lot of variables (or they are supposed to) before administering a prescription to someone, especially drugs that have the potential of killing someone. They look at the patients medical stats, body weight, and calculate the dose based on that. For an individual to assume it is perfectly fine to share medications or take another person’s prescriptions is asinine. In addition, there are some combinations of drugs that simply do not work, and if taken together they can cause cardiac arrest.

Dr. Julie Holland, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine in New York City, who also specializes in psychopharmacology says, “”Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem in America right now. It’s the new drug epidemic to some extent,” she said. “And if you take away anything — it’s the fact that we are living in a culture of dangerous polypharmacy. Too many people are taking too many medications without enough supervision.”

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed. Abuse of prescription drugs can produce serious health effects, including addiction. Commonly abused classes of prescription medications include opioids (for pain), central nervous system depressants (for anxiety and sleep disorders), and stimulants (for ADHD and narcolepsy). Opioids include hydrocodone (Vicodin®), oxycodone (OxyContin®), propoxyphene (Darvon®), hydromorphone (Dilaudid®), meperidine (Demerol®), and diphenoxylate (Lomotil®). Central nervous system depressants include barbiturates such as pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal®), and benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium®) and alprazolam (Xanax®). Stimulants include dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine®), methylphenidate (Ritalin® and Concerta®), and amphetamines (Adderall®).”

A study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services shows that the number of teens and young adults (ages 12-15) abusing pain killers grew from 400,000 in the mid-’80’s to over 2 million by the year 2000, and that was ten years ago!

In Wisconsin and Minnesota, 34 percent of kids diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) said they had been approached to sell or trade their Ritalin or Adderall, two drugs commonly used to treat symptoms of ADHD.

It is certain that the physicians and pharmacists have the primary responsibility to make certain drugs are distributed and used properly, but this was established by the FDA long ago. With the rise of prescription drug abuse in America’s culture, it is evident that our current means of supervision is not working. How many more deaths or near-deaths will occur before something is done.

The United States Congress declares the month of August as “National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month,” with the hope to bring further awareness to drug abuse problems. Awareness is great, but generally an abuser/addict is not overly concerned with awareness. The most obvious way that awareness can work, is if family members or friends who notice behavioral problems will take the necessary steps and do an intervention to “try” and save a life.

For further study, this is an interesting history of prescription drugs in the U.S. from the late 1800’s to the present.
http://www.goodmedicinebadbehavior.org/explore/history_of_prescription_drugs.html

http://www.nida.nih.gov/DrugPages/prescription.html
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/prescr_drg_abuse.html
http://www.prescription-drug-abuse.org/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581022,00.htm