Category Archives: Prescription Drugs

2009 US Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Data

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National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009

A frightening report from the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), known as “The National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009 (NPDTA),” was recently released and reflected an excessive abuse of nonmedical, prescription drug use in the US. The most startling figure, however, was the absorbent amount of youths (12-21) that were included in the results.

The very first sentence of the report reads: “Approximately 6.9 million individuals aged 12 or older were current (past month) nonmedical users of prescription-type psychotherapeutic drugs (opioid pain relievers tranquilizers, sedatives, or stimulants) during 2007, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).”

The report goes on to note: “the number of deaths and treatment admissions involving CPDs, particularly prescription opioids, increased significantly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, unintentional overdose deaths involving prescription opioids increased 114 percent from 2001 (3,994) to 2005 (8,541), the most recent nationwide data available.”

The data is based upon an accumulation of information collected from local law enforcement authorities and public health officials across the US. For the full report of The National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009, please click the following links:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs33/33775/index.htm
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs33/33775/33775p.pdf

NA Blog: Narcotics Anonymous Meetings Los Angeles

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Narcotics Anonymous meetings Los Angeles

As stated in the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, on page nine, “Narcotics Anonymous is a nonprofit Fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean.”  Here at the NA Blog, we are dedicated to keeping anyone in the recovery community informed about Narcotics Anonymous meetings and events throughout the US.  This specific article focuses on Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Los Angeles.

The NA 12 Steps tradition is embraced at all of the 31,000 weekly meetings held around the world in the 100+ countries that form the Narcotics Anonymous fellowship.  Luckily, there is now a resource one can access easily online for up to date NA meetings information.  That resource part is offered through In the Rooms and can be located at: meetings.intherooms.com.  Below, please find a listing of just a few Narcotics Anonymous meetings the NA Blog has filtered through to provide those area-specific to LA.  We hope it helps someone out there find recovery.  For the full listing, click here.

Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Los Angeles:

AADAP
5318 South Crenshaw Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90043 Sunday 4:00PM

Agape Home Mission
2205 South Hobart Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90018 Saturday 7:30PM

AT Center
1773 Griffith Park Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026 Wednesday 8:30PM

Avalon Carver Center
4920 South Avalon
Los Angeles, CA 90011 Wednesday 7:00PM

BHS Community Center
3421 East Olympic Blvd
Downstairs Wednesday 8:00PM

Cafe Tropical
2900 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Silverlake Monday 12:00AM

California Building Plaza
5419 West Sunset Boulevard # 7
Los Angeles, CA 90027 Friday 5:00PM

Casa Mexicana
2900 Calle Pedro Infante
Los Angeles, CA 90063
enter at Calle Pedro Infante Thursday 8:00PM

Circle of Help Foundation
2120 West 8th Street Suite 330
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Third Floor Wednesday 4:30PM

Covenant House
1325 North Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Speaker on 1st Sunday of month only Sunday 7:00PM

Florida Legislature Approves Prescription Drug Abuse Tracking System

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Florida Perscription drug Bill

Last week the Florida State Senate passed legislation that would crack down on the long-standing problem the state has had with pain clinics and the growing number of people “doctor shopping” for addictive medications, by implementing a statewide database that would monitor prescriptions. The initiative was proposed by Sen. Mike Fasano and passed unanimously in the state senate.

Although 38 other states, nationwide, had previously established such monitoring systems, Florida meandered in its decision due to the implicated, privacy issues associated with monitoring personal prescriptions. Still, many Floridians are more than happy to compromise the possibility of minor unwanted inquiries to their prescriptions, in return for a system especially designed to target the more potent opiate painkillers like oxycodone that are responsible for prescription drug overdoses across the state.

Prescription-drug overdoses have seemed to reach epidemic proportions in recent years; for example, the Tampa Bay area has had an average of about 500 fatalities annually, due to prescription-drug overdose, which are almost as many fatalities as those of car crashes in the area. Statewide the annual fatality rate, attributed to prescription-drug overdose, averages at about 2,000 a year, which is currently more than 3 times that of either cocaine or heroin.

Currently, the bill awaits approval from the House, before it can pass on to Governor Charlie Crist for a final signature. Nonetheless, the controversial stigma of privacy issues the policy carries with it has addiction experts, like Joel Kaufman of Broward County’s Commission on Substance Abuse, skeptical about the bill’s final authorization and official implementation. “It feels great that it’s gotten this far,” Kaufman said in a recent interview, “but until it gets to the governor’s desk, I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Suboxone and Subutex FDA Information

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suboxone-subutex

With all the recent headlines in the news about addiction problems that have stemmed from the opiate-dependence medication “Suboxone and Subutex,” we here at The NA Blog thought it important to post original advisories on the drug that the federal government issued upon its original release for treatment to the general public. The following is an edited version of the original press release issued by FDA Talk Papers, which are created and distributed by the Press Office of the FDA. According to the website, they are for: “personnel in responding with consistency and accuracy to questions from the public on subjects of current interest,” and “are subject to change as more information becomes available.” The full version can be found at:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2002/ANS01165.html

SUBUTEX AND SUBOXONE APPROVED TO TREAT OPIATE DEPENDENCE

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of Subutex…and Suboxone tablets…for the treatment of opiate dependence. Subutex and Suboxone treat opiate addiction by preventing symptoms of withdrawal from heroin and other opiates….Subutex and Suboxone have been studied in over 2,000 patients and shown to be safe and effective treatments for opiate dependence….Clinical data indicate that the risk of serious diminished breathing may be less with buprenorphine than other opioids when used in high doses or in overdose situations. Nonetheless, buprenorphine has been associated with deaths due to diminished breathing, especially when used in combination with alcohol or other Central Nervous System (CNS) depressant drugs, according to reports from France where it has been available for several years.

Based on the potential for abuse of Subutex and Suboxone, FDA and its parent Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) place the active ingredient, buprenorphine, in Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)…Subutex and Suboxone are the first narcotic drugs available for the treatment of opiate dependence that can be prescribed in an office setting under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) of 2000….

The sponsor, in collaboration with the FDA and with input from other Health and Human Services agencies, has developed a comprehensive risk management program designed to deter abuse and diversion from its legitimate use…The risk management program also provides for active and passive surveillance to identify if and when the drugs are being abused….Reports of the results of these surveillance efforts will enable FDA to identify untoward effects from the availability of buprenorphine and, if indicated, to take appropriate actions to protect the public health….

Recovery Testimonial: Painkiller Predicament

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The NA Blog would like to share this moving and enlightening testimonial written by a recovering addict about their struggle with a prescription drug addiction and the wonders that the internet plays in 21st Century recovery. Please keep in mind that the author’s identity has been kept anonymous for the sake of maintaining the basic premise within NA of anonymity.

Painkiller Predicament

As I sit down to write this, I still can’t believe that this is my story. My name is Nicole and I was a competitive bicycle racer for many years. I wasn’t pro or anything but I loved riding my bike fast. I was physically fit, never a smoker or big drinker and my only real addiction was clipping in and riding. One morning I was out on a training run and a car turned left in front of me leaving me no time to stop. I flew over the hood and landed flat on my back. The first thing I did was wiggle my fingers and toes and thank the lord they all moved. I knew I wasn’t paralyzed but I couldn’t stand up or move. After the ambulance, the lawsuit and countless hours of physical therapy I found myself addicted to pain medication.

I don’t have an ugly story of addiction to tell. I never woke up in a strange place covered in vomit. I never sold all of my possessions or lost the deed to my house. But I was an addict nonetheless. I couldn’t get off the painkillers. I kept upping my dosage all on my own. I just didn’t think I was ‘one of those people’, an addict. It was easy for me to rationalize that addicts are all homeless people or that if I was able to go to work I must be fine. However the pills affected my personality, my relationships, my habits and all the other parts of my life. Finally I found help through a website filled with real honest people who had experiences similar to my own. I learned that addiction is a disease and it can affect ANYBODY. Nobody is ‘too good’ to be addicted.

I was taking an ungodly number of pills to kill the pain of depression, my backache and to keep me out of withdrawal for not taking enough pills! I was barely managing to keep my job and I knew I needed help. I was a shell of the athletic and outgoing person that I was. I knew I needed help and enrolling in rehab saved my life.

I want to share my story because there are millions of Americans out there addicted to prescription drugs. My addiction snuck up on me after a devastating accident and my growing addiction to the meds just made everything worse. I was a working professional woman with a good head on her shoulders. I was an athlete and proud of my body but my body took control of me for a while. I needed help and I asked for it. Please, if my story strikes a chord with you, please do not be afraid to ask for help. There are people out there waiting to help you become whole again.

Prescription Drug Abuse Rampant in Nevada

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Studies suggest that people from Nevada take nearly double the national average of prescription drugs. This makes Nevada one of the most narcotic ridden populations in the United States.

The numbers have surely reached deadly proportions. In 2006, in Clark County, Nevada, more people died of prescription narcotics overdoses than any other illicit drug. Also In 2006, people of Nevada were ranked number 1 in drug users involved in car accidents.

The drugs typically involved in the accidents were the brand names Vicodin or Lortab. According to these statistics, people in Nevada took enough of these drugs to roughly equal 48 Vicodin pills for every single person (including women and children) in the state for a year.

Why Nevada? Some think that Nevada’s drug scene is one of the most secretive and out of control epidemics in the nation.
 
Painkillers, which are usually opiates (derived from opium), are made from poppies – which have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. In the early 1900s, doctors were already prescribing opiates in order to treat pain and the effects of withdrawal for addicts. Experts now believe there is a prescription drug boom in the United States.

In the Rooms: A Global Recovery Site

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Another great way to help in the road to Narcotic Recovery is In The Rooms. This is the premier, most comprehensive online social network for the Recovery community worldwide. Their mantra is known as H.I.T.C.H. which means to Help, Inform, Touch, Connect and Heal those already in Recovery, seeking Recovery and the family and friends whom support Recovery around the globe.

The site has so many different people from all walks of life and helps connect you to others who share a similar story of addiction. With thousands of personal profiles, users can choose to join a particular fellowship is he/she desires. Virtual meetings, speaker libraries, daily meditations and affinity groups help make this the best online social network for the Recovery community worldwide.

Prescription Painkiller Abuse on the Rise

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The abuse of prescription painkillers has risen dramatically in the U.S. over the past decade. Of particular concern is the abuse of pain medications containing opiates (also known as narcotic analgesics), marketed under such brand names as Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, Demerol, and Darvon.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), the incidence of emergency department (ED) visits related to narcotic analgesic abuse has been increasing in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, and more than doubled between 1994 and 2001.

Here are some interesting statistics that I recently came across in my research from The US Department of Health and Human Service.

  • In 2004, there were an estimated 90,232 ED visits related to narcotic analgesic abuse, a 117 percent increase since 1997.
  • Nationally, narcotic analgesics were involved in 14 percent of all drug abuse-related ED visits in 2004.
  • In 2001, approximately one-third of the narcotic analgesics reported to DAWN were not specified by name (32,196 mentions). Among the named narcotic analgesics, hydrocodone led with 21,567 mentions, followed by oxycodone (18,409 mentions).
  • Oxycodone mentions increased 70 percent from 2000 to 2001, compared to the 186 percent surge in mentions from 1999 to 2000. However, mentions of most narcotic analgesics did not increase from 2000 to 2001.
  • Dependence was the most frequently mentioned motive for narcotic analgesic abuse cases (38,941), followed by suicide (24,576), psychic effects (13,949), unknown motive (11,039), and other motives (1,727).
  • In 2001, the average age was 37 for patients who attended the ED because of narcotic analgesic abuse.

These statistics may frighten many but for some it is a clear indication of the power of narcotics over the mind, body and soul. Getting help for a prescription drug addiction can be difficult for those under the 24 hour influence of such powerful narcotics. If you know someone struggling with this type of an addiction, offer them help. Whether that be a shoulder to cry on or a helping hand towards rehabilitation, it is important to always remember to help others in need.