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Without changes in the laws, getting prescription drug addiction under control is going to be a long haul. The good news is that yesterday I read an article about a doctor pushing addictive drugs being sentenced to 20 years, and today we have another little drug ring, again with a doctor, that may get the same sentence. If we keep knocking them down quickly – and educate the public so they’re more aware of the dangers of prescription drugs and why they need drug detox, not more drugs, we may actually be able to do something about the problem.

Today’s story involves a doctor, a cop and three others. The police officer and two others allegedly posed as patients, and they apparently recruited others to do the same, and got prescriptions from the doctor. Then they filled the prescriptions and sold the drugs. The doctor was part of the alleged scheme, which went on from 2002 to 2006.

The drugs included OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Dilaudid, Suboxone and Xanax and, apparently, methadone. Two patients died from methadone overdoses, and another was seriously injured. The article didn’t say if the patients were doing methadone treatment for heroin addiction.

The cop is also being charged with using controlled substances while on the job. Or, at least, while he was in possession of his weapon. He first faced charges in May of this year and has been suspended without pay since that time.

So, we have a doc gone bad, and a cop. The cop obviously has a drug problem of his own. Maybe if he’d gotten into a good drug detox program and handled his own habit, he would have been the arresting officer in this case instead of the criminal.

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If you’re wondering what affect the Purdue Pharma hearings are having on prescription painkillers sales, the answer, so far, seems to be ‘none’. Conflicting headlines abound - Prescription painkiller sales up, Prescription painkiller sales down. However, a few things are abundantly clear. For example, the people of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida are now among the top consumers of OxyContin. The DEA has been concerned about Florida’s rising prescription drug abuse for a while, so this doesn’t come as a surprise. Let’s hope addicted Floridians find a good Florida drug detox soon.

It doesn’t surprise me that the sales don’t appear to have been affected. Many people in severe pain are going to take OxyContin and other painkillers, regardless of the risks.

And I don’t think there are too many people thinking “what if I get addicted?”or “what if I abuse this drug?” before they take them. They’re going to think it couldn’t happen to them.

I’d like to get all the people who are addicted to OxyContin in one big room, okay, let’s make that one small state, and get a show of hands – “Everyone who thought they were going to get addicted to this drug when they first started taking it, put up your hand.”

I’d lay odds on the percentage being quite low. Wouldn’t you?

And that is exactly why prescription drug addiction is so insidious. If you take heroin, you expect it. You might even expect it with other street drugs. But when you get it from your doctor, you’re safe. Yeah, right.

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You’ve probably heard of doctor shopping – going from one doctor to another looking for one who will write you a prescription for a drug you don’t have a legitimate medical reason to take, but to which you are addicted. Painkillers like OxyContin, Vicodin and Lortab are usually at the top of the list. People fake injuries or pain to justify getting the drug, and sometimes they actually injure themselves – like the man who had his wife run over his leg with the car. Shortly thereafter, his life was basically over. And it all could have been turned around with drug detox and rehab.

Where did he wind up? No house, no car, children taken away by the state, and living under a bridge waiting to die.

The drug he was taking contained hydrocordone – the ingredient in OxyContin, Vicodin, Lortab and hundreds of other drugs. They are near or at the top of the list of abused prescription drugs, and have more prescriptions written for them than any other painkiller on the market.

They are basically legal heroin. They are just as addictive, and just as hard to stop taking.
Don’t mess with them. If you need opiod painkillers, and are taking them for more than a short time, consider finding another alternative. If you’re already past that ‘short time,’ contact a drug detox program experienced with prescription drug addiction to help you get off them. Otherwise, you could be coping with something much more serous than pain in the future.

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Officials in Scotland are rethinking methadone as replacement therapy for heroin addiction. The original intention of the methadone program was not to simply “park” addicts on methadone. It was supposed to be used in conjunction with other drug addiction treatment that would actually end their addiction. Instead, 21,000 people in Scotland are being prescribed methadone by their doctors – an increase of over 10 percent in the last three years – without receiving the drug detox and drug rehab treatment they need.

The new drugs minister, Fergus Ewing, told Scotland on Sunday that if he withdraws the methadone program, addicts will simply go back to heroin. So, although he will not abandon the program, he does recognize the need to provide an “exit strategy” to addicts so they are able to shake their habit. He pledged to increase drug rehab services.

Many people on methadone have been led to believe that they need to stay on it for years, or for life. But, in almost all cases, it is possible to beat heroin addiction with a successful drug detox and drug rehab program.

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OxyContin addiction suits will be flying, but don’t wait for drug detox or rehab 

Yesterday’s hearing of Purdue Pharma and its executives marked the end of the national case. Purdue will pay $600 million and the executives who pled guilty to misleading the public about OxyContin’s potential for addiction and abuse will pay $34.5 million. Where is the money going? Unfortunately, most of it will not go to the victims. I don’t know how many people are now struggling with OxyContin addiction, but I do know that many of them will need drug detox and possibly drug rehab to overcome the addiction and resume a normal life.

The money will be distributed to state and federal law enforcement agencies, the federal government, federal and state Medicare programs, a Virginia prescription monitoring program and individuals who have sued the company. About $5 million will be spent on a 6-year program that monitors compliance with the agreement.

The U.S. District Judge who levied the fine and accepted the distribution of the money said he would prefer the money be spent on education of those at risk of drug abuse and treatment of those who are addicted to OxyContin, but he accepted the agreement nevertheless.

“Many young people mistakenly believe today that prescription drugs are safer than other drugs,” Jones said. Indeed. That’s why hospital emergency rooms, drug detox and drug rehab centers are being inundated with victims of prescription drug addiction and abuse. And the morgues have also seen their fair share – from 2003 through 2005 there were 119 oxycodone-related deaths just in the small area of southwest Virginia where the sentencing took place.  And it’s not just young people.

Obviously, the lawsuits will be flying and there’s a good chance that anyone addicted to OxyContin will see some money. But it could take a while. If you or someone you care about is addicted to OxyContin, don’t wait to get into a drug detox. OxyContin addiction is dangerous. Get off it before you become one of the statistics.

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