AUTHOR: Eric DATE: 6/11/2007 06:42:00 AM ----- BODY:
Prescription drug abuse in Tennessee causes more deaths than heroin addiction A recent article highlighting the prescription drug problem in Tennessee stated that prescription drugs now cause more deaths than heroin addiction, methamphetamine and cocaine. Over 1200 deaths were linked to prescription drugs from 2002 to 2005, according to Medical Examiner (ME) records, and the number increased by 62 percent over that four year period. The deaths of several people are covered in the article, one of them the daughter of a man who, in retrospect, wished he had gotten a court order to force his adult daughter into drug rehab when he saw there was a problem. That would have been exactly the right thing to do. The State ME said that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the overall problem as most people who abuse prescription drugs don’t die, they just live with the consequences. What are the consequences? The daughter who was not forced into drug rehab was a nurse who damaged vertebrae in her neck while on the job. The doctor prescribed mild painkillers, but they didn’t work. More prescriptions followed, as did dependency and addiction. She became completely non-functional, had to quit working, moved back home with her parents and couldn’t even cook a meal. On four prescription drugs simultaneously – methadone (which used to be used to help end heroin addiction but is now prescribed as a painkiller and is highly addictive in itself), an antidepressant, and two other powerful medications – she finally died of an overdose at age 42. Those are the consequences. Don’t let them happen to someone you love. Get them into a successful drug rehab program.

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-------- AUTHOR: Romie DATE: 3/21/2007 10:47:00 AM ----- BODY:
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, there are about 13.4 million current cocaine users in the world. While the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of cocaine (not exactly something to be proud of), the next highest percentage falls in Western and Central Europe. Ireland has seen a notable increase in cocaine use of late, as reported by their National Advisory Committee on Drugs. The organization says the number of cocaine seizures has quadrupled and cocaine-related offenses have increased by more than seven times in the last six years. The number of treatment admissions for cocaine in Ireland has also increased noticeably, tripling since 1998. There really hasn’t been a defining reason for the increase necessarily, but drug use throughout the world has increased and decreased by substance periodically. Why do you think the use of any particular illicit substance increases or decreases on a national level? Article by Eric Digg It | Reddit | Newsvine Seed Add to your bookmarks in: del.icio.us | Yahoo! | Google | Furl | ma.gnolia | Spurl

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-------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:E. Catton COMMENT-DATE:Mar 22, 2007 11:17:00 AM COMMENT-BODY:This makes sense and it is directly linked to the rise in the the amout of legal stimulants that are prescribed to children and adults like Adderol and Ritalin. Many kids prescribed these drugs in school end up abusing other stimulants like cocaine and amphetamines later in life. --------