Narconon Center Blog

1-800-468-6933

Take Back Prescription Drug Day

On April 30, more than 4,700 sites nationwide came together in an effort that seeks to prevent pill abuse and theft.  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, this effort has increased by hundreds of sites, showing a growing effort by the American people to end this prescription epidemic. Government, community, public health and law enforcement partners at these sites worked together to collect expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs that are potentially dangerous if left in the family’s medicine cabinet.

“The overwhelming public response to DEA’s first nationwide Take-Back event last fall not only rid homes of potentially harmful prescription drugs, but was an unprecedented opportunity to educate everyone about the growing prescription drug abuse problem,” said DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart.  “Studies have shown that, for many, prescription drugs are the very first drugs they abuse—and all too often they aren’t the last.  That is why we are committed to helping Americans keep their homes safe by ridding their medicine cabinets of expired, unused, and unwanted drugs.”

This effort follows a plan released by the Obama Administration to crack down on the number of painkiller deaths. Anti-drug and health officials released a new strategy that calls for states to create and use databases which track prescription drugs.  The plan also asks for an additional $123 million for drug prevention and an additional $99 million for treatment programs in the 2012 fiscal year.

The plan will also force states to put in place and use a drug monitoring program.  A drug monitoring program is a statewide electronic database which collects designated data on substances dispensed in the state. The monitoring is controlled by a specified statewide administration or agency. The agency distributes data from the database to individuals who are authorized under state law to receive the information for purposes of their profession.

“I encourage every American to take advantage of this valuable opportunity to safely dispose of unused, un-needed, or expired prescription drugs,” said Gil Kerlikowkse, Director of National Drug Control Policy.  “Preventing these readily available and potentially deadly drugs from being diverted and misused is something each and every one of us can do to help reduce the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is harming so many Americans.”

There are many rehabilitation centers also participating in the event including Narconon drug treatment programs. The facilities are teaming up with law enforcement to ensure that drug prevention presentations are delivered and information is handed out about the dangers of prescriptions.
For more information call 800-468-6933.

Facts About Prescription Drugs

If you are reading this, you are most likely seeking help for yourself or a loved one with a prescription drug addiction. Perhaps, you are doing some research on prescription drug abuse for a project of some kind or you may just have a personal interest in this area.

Whatever the case, this will be able to provide you with some useful information.
According to the White House Drug Policy, there are three classes of prescription drugs that are most commonly abused:

•    Opioids such as Codeine, Oxycodone, and Morphine
•    Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines like Xanax or Valium.
•    Central Nervous System stimulants such as drugs like Adderall or Ritalin.

These three types of medications are frequently prescribed and dispensed. All three can be addictive and have presented many problems for the user.

Painkillers are drugs commonly prescribed for pain and are only legally available by prescription. Painkiller abuse can be dangerous, even deadly, with too high a dose or when taken with other drugs, like alcohol. Short-term effects of painkiller abuse may include lack of energy, inability to concentrate, nausea and vomiting, and apathy. Significant doses of painkillers can cause breathing problems. When abused, painkillers can be addictive.

Narconon drug rehab centers have reported seeing a significant increase in the abuse of painkillers. According to the facility, the most common painkillers that are being abused currently are Oxy Contin, Hydrocodone and Oxycodone.

Depressants, or downers, are given out to treat a variety of health problems including anxiety and panic attacks, tension, severe stress reactions, and sleep disorders. Also referred to as sedatives and tranquilizers, depressants can slow normal brain function. Health risks related to depressant abuse include respiratory depression, loss of coordination, dizziness due to lowered blood pressure, slurred speech, poor concentration, feelings of confusion, and in extreme cases, coma and even possible death.

Some of the most commonly abused depressants include Valium or Xanax.

Stimulants, or speed, are most often prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but they are also used to treat a variety of conditions such as asthma, respiratory problems, obesity, and sleep disorders such as narcolepsy. When taken in higher doses, these drugs can produce euphoric effects and counteract sluggish feelings. Health risks related to stimulant abuse include increased heart and respiratory rates, excessive sweating, vomiting, tremors, anxiety, hostility and aggression, and in severe abuse, suicidal/homicidal tendencies, convulsions, and cardiovascular collapse.

Some commonly abuse stimulants are drugs like Ritalin or Adderall.

It’s easy to see how these drugs can be abused and become addictive for the user. There are definitely situations that call for prescription drug use. However, today this has become a widely overused and abused problem.

Unfortunately to monitor each and every use of prescriptions would cost taxpayers vast amounts of money and is not a reasonable response to this growing problem. The only logical solution is educating and making the public aware of the dangers that could arise and rehabilitating those already addicted to prescriptions.

For more information call Narconon 800-468-6933.

Loritab Recovery Possible With Treatment

Whether it is for physical and/or emotional pain or difficulty, Americans are taking pills and more people are abusing them. However, with treatment, recovery is possible.

A study from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found 28.6 percent of persons aged 12 and older were initiated into illicit drug use through a non-prescribed prescription drug. Of these, 17.1% were with pain relievers, 8.6% with tranquilizers, and 2.0% were with stimulants. An additional 1.0% was with sedatives.

What is it about prescription drugs that compel us into underestimating their potential dangers when used inappropriately? If it’s legal and comes from a doctor does that make it safer than drugs from a drug dealer?

A perfect example of how this happens is with a young man names Henry. He was in a car accident and the doctor prescribed him Loritab a commonly prescribed pain reliever.  Henry soon found himself taking these pills over the recommended dose and he felt as though the drug was needed to perform everyday actions.

One year later Henry no longer had a prescription for Loritab but this didn’t stop him from using them.  He was buying them from friends and sometimes people he didn’t even know.  He lost his job, family and home because all his money and time was being used to obtain this medicine.

Henry is now a graduate of the Narconon program; he has regained his ability to make rational decisions that not only help him become a better person but those around him as well.  He says that he is able to put the past behind him and has started a new life.  Henry has been clean for over two years. He has re-married, found a good job and is building a new home.

Most importantly, Henry is enjoying every moment of his life without abusing prescriptions. As a result of his treatment he has been able to fully recover from his Loritab addiction.

Plans Announced to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise and statistics have been released to prove it.  According to the Substance and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), between 2002 and 2009, the number of Americans aged 12 and older abusing pain relievers increased by 20 percent.

As a result, the Obama administration and lawmakers of both parties vow to tackle the growing epidemic of painkiller deaths.  Anti-drug and health officials released a new strategy this week that calls for states to create and use databases which track prescription drugs.  The plan also asks for an additional $123 million for drug prevention and an additional $99 million for treatment programs in the 2012 fiscal year.

“Today we are making an unprecedented commitment to combat the growing problem of prescription drug abuse”, said Joe Bide, United State Vice President. “This plan will save lives, and it will substantially lessen the burden this epidemic takes on our families, communities, and workforce.”

“This plan will save lives, and it will substantially lessen the burden this epidemic takes on our families, communities, and workforce,” he added.

This plan will help educate the medical community about the dangers of prescription drug addiction and how their actions are affecting the entire country.   Drug makers will actually be responsible for teaching the doctors and drug distributors about the safe use of prescription drugs.

The plan will also force states to put in place and use a drug monitoring program.  A drug monitoring program is a statewide electronic database which collects designated data on substances dispensed in the state. The monitoring is controlled by a specified statewide administration or agency. The agency distributes data from the database to individuals who are authorized under state law to receive the information for purposes of their profession.

It also includes a more effective arrangement for pill disposal methods. Individuals will be given specific areas where they can bring their unused medications or prescriptions and have them safely disposed.  Without a strict enforcement, unused drugs could sit around the medicine cabinet and eventually fall into the wrong hands.

Finally, it includes a collective effort to reduce the prevalence of pill mills. A pill mill is a doctor’s office or clinic where doctors sell prescription drugs to practically anyone with cash.  These have also become a major problem throughout the country.

If implemented correctly, this plan has the potential to save the lives of millions.

Prescriptions have become the second most abused drug in the world currently. The government, along with rehabilitation and education programs around the country is working hard to end the prescription epidemic. The solution is to focus on demand reduction and get prescription drug addiction help for those in need.

The Prescription Cross Addiction Problem

In the last decade, prescription drug addiction has taken the country by storm.  In Florida, where more prescription medication is dispensed than anywhere else in the country, prescription drug addiction is affecting every citizen in some way or another.
One former Florida resident and prescription drug addict, Heather M., gives her story of how prescription drugs snuck into her life and took complete control.

“I went into a doctor’s office in South Florida to have him check on some back pain I was having,” explains Heather. “Without even looking at my MRI or X-Rays, he was filling out a prescription to Oxy Contin.”

According to an analysis of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s data, 98 of the top 100 doctors dispensing Oxy Contin nationally are in Florida. In addition approximately 126 million pills of Oxy Contin are dispensed through Florida pharmacies.  These numbers are staggering, considering that Oxy Contin is a prescription drug that is comparable only to heroin or morphine.

“I got on methadone to get off OxyContin which was a huge mistake,” explains Heather, a former methadone addict and recent graduate of the Narconon program. “I stopped taking heroin but developed a dependency towards the methadone.  For me, methadone was even more addictive than the Oxy Contin. ”

Methadone was developed as a substitute treatment, used by those struggling with heroin addiction.  The theory is that one will substitute the methadone for their heroin addiction, reducing withdrawal symptoms, and then they will be weaned off of the methadone.

“I was on methadone for 9 years and it totally destroyed my body,” said Heather. “As a result to the prolonged us of methadone, I developed an under-active thyroid, requiring me to take medication for the rest of my life.  I also developed a severe calcium and magnesium deficiency from the methadone, causing me to have body cramps almost a year and a half later. The withdrawals from methadone are far worse than Oxy Contin.”
Stories like this are far more common than one might believe.  An individual goes into a doctor’s office looking for some help with a injury, such as a back pain, and leave with a prescription to powerful drugs such as Oxy Contin.  They then become addicted to the euphoric feeling produced by the prescription drug.  In many cases, the individual becomes “strung out” on the drug and many even overdose or die.

This did not occur Heather’s case. Luckily, she found relief from her addiction through a rehabilitation program called Narconon.
“Narconon Arrowhead offered immediate help with my addiction and truly cared about my well-being,” said Heather.” They handled the full extent of my addiction; the physical and mental issues surrounding my drug problem and did this using a method that was totally drug free.”

Narconon, an inpatient treatment program, offers a drug-free approach to rehabilitation. The facility specializes in handing prescription addiction as well as addiction to all drugs and alcohol and achieves a more than 70% success rate for permanent sobriety from addiction.

“I wish I would have tried Narconon before using methadone for my Oxy Contin addiction,” says Heather, “Thanks to Narconon, I am no longer dependent on drugs or medication. I have found permanent sobriety.”

For more information on prescription addiction or to help a loved one, contact Narconon today at 800-468-6933.