The same medicines that are in our cupboards at home are showing up in our news. We have all seen headlines like these that I found in the New York Times: “53 year-old Mother and Her 35 year old Son Die By Overdosing on Prescription Painkillers”; “13-year old Fatally Overdoses on Oxycodone Pills Taken From a Friend’s Grandmother”; “Newly Born Withdrawing From Painkillers (Understanding).”
These are not isolated events. They are just a few examples of human lives that have been, and will be destroyed by the abuse of the drugs our doctors prescribe to help us feel better. The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) compiled some very disturbing statistics in 2013. They state that: “Drug overdose was the leading cause of injury deaths among people 25 to 64 years old,” drug overdoses caused more deaths than motor vehicle traffic crashes, and that 43,982 individuals died of a drug overdose in 2013 in the United States alone. Of these 51.8% were related to prescription drugs. At the end of the article, the CDC classifies pharmaceutical abuse as “the new epidemic” (Substance abuse).
Trying To Stop The Spread
There have been controls put into place. State policies have been changed, prescription drug monitoring programs have been put into place, policemen have been diligently watching for drug trafficking and theft, bill boards try to educate, and many articles have been written to try to publicize the problem. But despite all of these efforts, prescription drug abuse still escalates.
Doctors Prescribing vs. Abuse
There seems to be a correlation between the way doctors are prescribing medication and abuse of the medication. Since 1991, the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed has increased each year. In a pamphlet written for pharmacies called, “A Primer on Prescription Drug Abuse and The Role of the pharmacy Directors,” produced by Andre Harvin, Pharm D and Robert J. Wager, Pharm D., it states “there is a direct relationship between the increase in opioid prescribing and the rise in abuse and mortality rates.” In this booklet they recognized that over the last decade prescribers (doctors) have increased:
For millions of families across America the shelves of their medicine cabinets are filled with left over prescription drugs. In my family of six, I can quickly name typical procedures we have had through out the years; two tonsillectomies, two knee surgeries, a hip replacement, a heart procedure, two bunions removed, one deviated septum repaired, and six sets of wisdom teeth retracted, and I would consider us a health family. Because I was the responsible parent in these situations, I feel confident in saying that in each case we were given a prescription written for some kind of painkiller with no less than ten, more often thirty pills per bottle. In all but the hip replacement no more then one or two pills were taken for pain. The rest of the pills sat in my cupboard.
This unneeded excess is leaving lots of unused pills in our homes to be experimented with by teenagers, used improperly by those who are feeling a little discomfort, and stolen from our homes by those who are already hooked and out of control. In the New York Times an article written by Abby Goodnough in Sept. 23, 2010 entitled “A Wave of Addiction and Crime, with the Medicine cabinets to Blame” describes that home invasions, robberies, assaults, homicides, thefts — all kinds of crimes are being linked to prescription drugs”. Here are a few examples: in Harpswell, Maine, a masked man broke into the home of a 77-year-old woman in June, knocked her to the ground and snatched her Oxycontin pills at knifepoint. And in Hyannis, Mass. three men armed with a knife, a bat and a revolver broke into a home in 2008, bound the owner’s hands and feet with duct tape and tore through drawers and cabinets until they found her husband’s Oxycontin. These are just one of many articles you can find describing the gravity of the situation. ( Goodnough )
Pharmacies vs. Drug Abuse
If you decide to be proactive and keep the extra pills out of your cupboard the next time you have to fill a prescription of thirty pills by ask the pharmacist to only give you five pills, there will be a pause of confusion, and then a deep breath before he tries to explain to you that you will have to pay the whole price for the thirty pills. And, if you happen to need more you have to pay the full price again. They will also tell you they cannot do anything about this policy, that it is the insurance fault that we have to pay again, or the government, or the police, and that they do not know how to change it.
In order to keep us comfortable and healthy from human ailments our doctors are prescribing medications. These medications are deadly if taken in excess. Pharmaceutical abuse is a growing problem that is covering our nation. With it comes loss and pain. Human lives destroyed. Can we change the landscape of this issue? We cannot control every individual. But could we give each individual tools in which to safely manage the pills coming in and out of our homes, keeping them in the pharmacy’s where they belong and out of our cupboards.
Works Cited
Goodnough, Abby. "A Wave of Addiction and Crime, with the Medicine Cabinet to Blame." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Haruin, Andre, and Robert J. Weber. "A Primer On Prescription Drug Abuse And The Role Of The Pharmacy Director." Hospital Pharmacy 50.5 (2015): 423-428. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
Substance abuse and mental health services Administration. Results from the 2012 National survey on Drug use and Health: Summary of national findings, NSDUH series H-46, HHS Publication No. SMA)13-4795. Rockville, MD: Author;2013
"Understanding the Epidemic." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Picture http://household-tips.thefuntimesguide.com
picture www.theworkingcaregiver.org
These are not isolated events. They are just a few examples of human lives that have been, and will be destroyed by the abuse of the drugs our doctors prescribe to help us feel better. The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) compiled some very disturbing statistics in 2013. They state that: “Drug overdose was the leading cause of injury deaths among people 25 to 64 years old,” drug overdoses caused more deaths than motor vehicle traffic crashes, and that 43,982 individuals died of a drug overdose in 2013 in the United States alone. Of these 51.8% were related to prescription drugs. At the end of the article, the CDC classifies pharmaceutical abuse as “the new epidemic” (Substance abuse).
Trying To Stop The Spread
There have been controls put into place. State policies have been changed, prescription drug monitoring programs have been put into place, policemen have been diligently watching for drug trafficking and theft, bill boards try to educate, and many articles have been written to try to publicize the problem. But despite all of these efforts, prescription drug abuse still escalates.
Doctors Prescribing vs. Abuse
There seems to be a correlation between the way doctors are prescribing medication and abuse of the medication. Since 1991, the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed has increased each year. In a pamphlet written for pharmacies called, “A Primer on Prescription Drug Abuse and The Role of the pharmacy Directors,” produced by Andre Harvin, Pharm D and Robert J. Wager, Pharm D., it states “there is a direct relationship between the increase in opioid prescribing and the rise in abuse and mortality rates.” In this booklet they recognized that over the last decade prescribers (doctors) have increased:
- The number of opioid prescriptions,
- The number of tablets prescribed per prescription,
- The day’s supply
- The cumulative dose of prescription opioids.
- 586 patients who had an elective urology procedure, were given a prescribed supply of pain killers for 10 to 30 days. This is concerning, he says, because the recommendation for pain management for these procedures is for the use of painkillers for 7 to 10 days. Among the patients studied 67% had leftover medication, and 90% of them received no instructions on how to dispose of the extra tablets. The respondents kept the extra tablets in the house, with 91% indicating they still had them in the house 3 months after. (Haruin, 2015)
For millions of families across America the shelves of their medicine cabinets are filled with left over prescription drugs. In my family of six, I can quickly name typical procedures we have had through out the years; two tonsillectomies, two knee surgeries, a hip replacement, a heart procedure, two bunions removed, one deviated septum repaired, and six sets of wisdom teeth retracted, and I would consider us a health family. Because I was the responsible parent in these situations, I feel confident in saying that in each case we were given a prescription written for some kind of painkiller with no less than ten, more often thirty pills per bottle. In all but the hip replacement no more then one or two pills were taken for pain. The rest of the pills sat in my cupboard.
This unneeded excess is leaving lots of unused pills in our homes to be experimented with by teenagers, used improperly by those who are feeling a little discomfort, and stolen from our homes by those who are already hooked and out of control. In the New York Times an article written by Abby Goodnough in Sept. 23, 2010 entitled “A Wave of Addiction and Crime, with the Medicine cabinets to Blame” describes that home invasions, robberies, assaults, homicides, thefts — all kinds of crimes are being linked to prescription drugs”. Here are a few examples: in Harpswell, Maine, a masked man broke into the home of a 77-year-old woman in June, knocked her to the ground and snatched her Oxycontin pills at knifepoint. And in Hyannis, Mass. three men armed with a knife, a bat and a revolver broke into a home in 2008, bound the owner’s hands and feet with duct tape and tore through drawers and cabinets until they found her husband’s Oxycontin. These are just one of many articles you can find describing the gravity of the situation. ( Goodnough )
Pharmacies vs. Drug Abuse
If you decide to be proactive and keep the extra pills out of your cupboard the next time you have to fill a prescription of thirty pills by ask the pharmacist to only give you five pills, there will be a pause of confusion, and then a deep breath before he tries to explain to you that you will have to pay the whole price for the thirty pills. And, if you happen to need more you have to pay the full price again. They will also tell you they cannot do anything about this policy, that it is the insurance fault that we have to pay again, or the government, or the police, and that they do not know how to change it.
In order to keep us comfortable and healthy from human ailments our doctors are prescribing medications. These medications are deadly if taken in excess. Pharmaceutical abuse is a growing problem that is covering our nation. With it comes loss and pain. Human lives destroyed. Can we change the landscape of this issue? We cannot control every individual. But could we give each individual tools in which to safely manage the pills coming in and out of our homes, keeping them in the pharmacy’s where they belong and out of our cupboards.
Works Cited
Goodnough, Abby. "A Wave of Addiction and Crime, with the Medicine Cabinet to Blame." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Haruin, Andre, and Robert J. Weber. "A Primer On Prescription Drug Abuse And The Role Of The Pharmacy Director." Hospital Pharmacy 50.5 (2015): 423-428. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
Substance abuse and mental health services Administration. Results from the 2012 National survey on Drug use and Health: Summary of national findings, NSDUH series H-46, HHS Publication No. SMA)13-4795. Rockville, MD: Author;2013
"Understanding the Epidemic." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Picture http://household-tips.thefuntimesguide.com
picture www.theworkingcaregiver.org