From infants being born suffering the severe effects to opioid withdrawal to states claiming these drugs an epidemic, prescription drug addiction is wreaking havoc on communities throughout the country. Back years ago “crack babies” or infants born addicted to crack were common and are still an issue. Addiction treatment facilities still experience a high volume of crack addicted babies, but prescription drugs are now a much more prevalent issue.

In Florida drug rehab centers and hospitals are experiencing a high volume of babies being borne withdrawing from drugs according to a recent article at CNN. According to the article just the first 6 months of 2010 brought forth 635 infants addicted to prescription drugs.  The babies “go through withdrawal symptoms,” Head Nurse Mary Osuch of Broward General Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit told CNN. “They’re crampy, miserable. They sweat. They can have rapid breathing. Sometimes, they can even have seizures.”

Many women will not seek help for fear of losing the babies and medical centers fear losing the baby if withdrawal occurs in the womb. The kicker here is the majority of these drugs are prescribed to pregnant women. Although there is a large amount of prescription drug diversion in Florida with a significant amount of addicts becoming addicted to prescription drugs with legal means and then resorting to illegal means.

As with state like Vermont, in 2010 more people were prosecuted in federal court for trafficking prescription drugs like Oxycodone and other opioids than any other drug. These drugs have accounted for more than half of drug overdoses for six years in row.  Surprisingly Vermont ranks second only to Maine for prescription drug addiction treatment admissions.

Furthermore, prescription drugs thought to curb heroin (an opiate) and prescription opioid painkillers like methadone and Suboxone are now serious issues for many addicts. These drugs are highly addictive as well and tens of thousands of addicts seek addiction treatment as a result of being prescribed these.

The United States Army is taking steps to slow down the number of soldiers addicted to prescription drugs and all we can say is IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) released reports showing opiate treatment admissions for drugs other then heroin up 6% over the last decade. Oxycontin and other drugs like Hydrocodone increased from 1% up to 7% which included both outpatient and inpatient treatment programs. Prescription drugs like this increased 25% for all opiate treatment admissions in 2009.

Since its inception in 1996, drugs like OxyContin have accounted for hundreds of thousands of deaths throughout the country, yet today, doctors are now claiming to “not know” the addictive qualities of these drugs. The Director-at- large for American Academy of Pain Medicine, Lynn Webster identified addiction to prescription drugs started increasing about ten years ago, as “pain management” doctors began prescribing more of these killer drugs, seeing them as safe. In the report by USA today, Ms Webster claims doctors were naïve in treating people suffering pain.

Countless times the addiction treatment counselors here at Addiction Treatment Watch speak to addicts and families who have told their doctors they were struggling with addiction, alcohol abuse and having problems yet the prescription still flowed. Many families we deal with had to be threat doctors with legal action before getting the prescriptions stopped. Now to have the top executive of the governing body basically claim ignorance seems wrong. These clinicians are those we trust to help us, and are profiting from our misfortune.    

Prescription drug addiction has yet to reach its peak. Over 7,000 kids try prescription drugs every day in the United States, and approximately 20% of these will become addicted. Adding to that are the number of heroin addicts borne out from prescription drug addiction. Many youth become addicted to prescription drugs and then move onto heroin as the drug is easier to obtain. States like Tennessee see this as a major threat, and Florida legislatures are taking drastic measures to curb the distribution of prescription drugs in Florida’s “pill mills”.

Truthfully it’s up to the public to be aware of any substance they are ingesting, but if we are to place our trust in those that are supposed to know and care for our health, then they have a responsibility too. 

On Jan 5th Minnesota officials weighed in on the fight against prescription drug addiction by launching a statewide database that will track the sale and distribution of powerful pain killer drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin and other drugs with high potential for addiction. Doctors, Dentist and pharmacists can employ the Minnesota Prescription Monitoring database in helping uncover habitual recipient’s addictive drugs. 

Prescription drug addiction can begin innocently enough with a quick trip to the doctor for some common problem. This doctor’s visit could quite possibly result in a powerful pain relieving drug being prescribed. This being the primary reason prescription drug addiction is on the rise and many states are taking measure’s to regulate how pharmacies are dispensing and tracking these powerfully addictive drugs.

Need for prescription addiction treatment already rising

The National Institute of Drug Abuse 2009 Monitoring The Future survey results are out and reports ten percent of the nations high school seniors have used Vicodin, a highly addictive opiod painkiller for non medicinal reasons, and 1 in 20 reported abusing Oxycontin, also a powerful opioid prescription painkiller. Non-medical use of these prescribed painkillers has also increased among 10th graders in the past five years. Prescription drug addiction has now surpassed addiction to cocaine and heroin combined.