FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (EASTON-JANUARY 27, 2010)
Prescription Drug Abuse Presents Serious Health Risks
Talbot Partnership for Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Prevention advises that prescription drug abuse is a serious and growing public health problem. Abuse of prescription as well as over-the-counter drugs has become increasingly prevalent among teens and adults, including the elderly. Past year abuse of prescription pain killers now ranks second—only behind marijuana—as the Nation's most prevalent illegal drug problem. Prescription drug abuse involves the use of a medication, usually by self-administration, in a manner that deviates from medical, legal and social standards.
Prescriptions for opioid medications in particular, have increased annually since 1990, at least in part because of evolving attitudes toward the use of opioids to treat chronic pain, and the increasing prevalence of chronic pain with the aging of the population. The prevalence of prescription drug abuse is increasing at a pace even faster than the increase in medical use of prescription drugs.
Although trends in the United States show a decline in the use of some illicit drugs, the abuse of prescription drugs is increasing, both in the US and worldwide. Many factors contribute to this rise, including the misperception of pharmaceutical drugs as safe even when used outside of medical practice, their relatively low cost, and their wide availability.
Some people experiment with prescription drugs because they think they will help them have more fun, lose weight, fit in, and even study more effectively. Some think they're not doing anything illegal because these drugs are prescribed by doctors. But taking drugs without a prescription — or sharing a prescription drug with friends — is illegal. And like all drug abuse, using prescription drugs for the wrong reasons has serious risks for a person's health.
Teens are often getting obtaining these drugs from their parent’s or grandparent’s medicine cabinets. For the first time, national studies show that today’s teens are more likely to have abused a prescription painkiller than any illicit drug. This upcoming generation of teens has been given the name “Generation Rx.”
What can you do to help prevent teens or any other person from getting involved with prescription drug abuse? The best thing to do is keep your prescription drugs in a safe place: don’t put them in the medicine cabinet in your bathroom because that is the first place teenager’s will look. If possible, lock them up in a cabinet or safe box. Secondly, safely dispose of unused and unwanted pharmaceuticals.
In Talbot County, Hill’s Drug Store has responded to the strong need for the proper disposal of unwanted and expired medications. Hill’s has announced it is now offering a new “drug take back” program to safely dispose of unused medications. This program is intended to reduce the risk of improper use as well as disposing of medicines that can damage our environment and present safety issues if not disposed of properly.
For further information on the prescription drug problem in our community, please call Talbot Partnership at 410-819-8067. For information on the “Drug Take Back” program, call Hill’s Drug Store at 410-819-6541.
