Posts Tagged ‘ drugs ’

July 27.11-Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription

Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis

Above is the title of a report from the Office of the President of the United States. Calling prescription drug abuse “the Nations fastest-growing drug problem”, the White House released a four-step plan to fight prescription drug abuse on April 19, 2011.

Statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that prescription drugs were used non-medically by one-third of first time drug users age 12 and over in 2009. The study also showed that 70 percent of the prescription drugs were obtained from friends and relatives.

While there has been a drop in the use of cocaine in recent years, prescription drugs are the second-most-widely abused drug with marijuana being first.

According to an ABC news article on April 19, 2011, Gil Kerlikowske, the White House Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy said, “We are in the midst of a public health crisis driven by prescription drug abuses.”

The Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan targets prescription drugs that are classified as opioids, though other prescription drugs are also abused. The plan first begins with education of the public, and health providers of the growing epidemic. The second part of the plan focuses on a tracking and monitoring plan for prescription drugs that will be enacted with the combined efforts of the Federal, state, and local authorities. Third, a disposal plan for unused prescription drugs detailing that the drugs be put into plastic bags with fillers such as coffee grounds, or kitty litter. Flushing unused medications is not recommended unless ingesting the prescription drug could be life-threatening. Finally, the last step is enforcement of policies to stop unethical doctors from prescribing non-medically-necessary prescription drugs to patients, as well as to prevent patients from doctor-shopping to obtain prescription drugs.

The Obama administration summarizes the plan with a call for the Nation to work together saying that no single organization or agency can be responsible for this action. “As a Nation, we must take urgent action to ensure the appropriate balance between the benefits these medications offer in improving lives and the risks they pose” says the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan.

 

To Download This Article: EpidemicPrescriptDrugs

Mar.28.11-Misuse of Drugs Crowds ER

Misuse of Drugs Crowds Emergency Rooms
RONI CARYN RABIN
Some 700,000 Americans are taken to the hospital each year after ingesting drugs, both legal and illegal, a new study reports. And the care costs nearly $1.4 billion in emergency room charges alone.
The study, published in the March issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, was based on data from the 2007 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, a government database that includes information on 27 million visits to 970 emergency rooms in 27 states.
Children younger than 6 had a higher rate of emergency visits for accidental drug poisoning than any other age group, but most of the visits were precautionary, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio: the children did not ingest toxic levels of medication.
Drug-related poisonings are increasingly a rural epidemic: measured against population, the rate in rural areas was three times that of other areas.
Injuries from misuse of drugs have been increasing for the past decade. A growing number involve prescription drugs, especially opioid painkillers like methadone, oxycodone and hydrocodone, which Dr. Smith says are being prescribed in record numbers.
In 2007, the year covered by the reports, antidepressants and pain medications were responsible for 44 percent of emergency room visits for drug-related poisonings.
Dr. Bob’s comments:
Unfortunately, many people have the concept in mind that if one pill is good at helping the cause then two pills must be better.  This could not be farther from the truth.  In desperate times people seek desperate measures.  It is too bad that our society does not put forth the effort to get away from “crisis care” versus preventative care.
Take for example your Winter Pothole formation on major roads.  What tends to happen is after a few alignments and flat tires are fixed followed by enough complaints does the “Crisis care road crew” go out and take care of the pothole.  Meanwhile, lawsuits are mounting against your small town as to whom is responsible for paying for their damages to their vehicle.  Spring nears, and all of a sudden the once poor town has enough funding to correct the problem and repave the entire road.
Your spinal health is very much the same way.  With all the misalignments that occur from activities of daily living put physical, emotional and chemical stressors on the body.  These suppress the body’s ability to function optimally.  Seeing a chiropractor to reduce and remove such misalignments in the body will reduce the need for drugs (Poisons made in a lab). This will allow your body to do its own innate sense of healing— naturally.
IF you find these comments offensive….That was not my intention.  However, “Great Spirits have always experienced violent opposition from mediocre minds” –Albert Einstein

To Download this Article: Misuse of Drugs Crowds ER