Drug News You Can Use
DEA helps parents fight back
The issue of prescription drug abuse, especially among teens, has been gaining attention over the past few years. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration would also like to gain allies in its battle against it.
“Prescription for Disaster: How Teens Abuse Medicine” is a guide to help parents and others better understand and identify the prescription and over-the-counter drugs teens are abusing.
Criminal records abound for owners of Colorado medical-marijuana centers
More than half the owners of medical-marijuana centers in Colorado have criminal arrest or conviction records for crimes such as dealing drugs, sexual assault, burglary and weapons violations, according to statistics developed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and obtained by 9News.
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_15627263
Concerns grow over drug abuse among older adults
Studies have shown an increase of 5.1 percent in marijuana use by adults ages 55 to 59 from 2002 to 2008.
Tri-County’s older adult care services work with patients 65 and older and are expecting increases in the drug’s use by the aging baby boomer population. Older adults have cited using the drug for medicinal purposes to relive pain in addition to those using it recreationally.
OxyContin prescription drug abuse "a silent, growing problem" among youths
A federal survey of high school students found that more than one in five had taken drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin or Xanax without a doctor’s prescription. The highest prevalence, the study found, was among whites.
That’s no surprise to law enforcement and treatment providers, who say OxyContin, codeine and other prescription drug abuse among youths tends to circulate most in affluent areas — where access to medical care may be greater, and acceptance of hard street drugs lower.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15615649?nclick_check=1
Move to Restrict Pain Killers Puts Onus on Doctors
Experts in pain treatment and drug abuse prevention say the growing use of long-acting pain killers like OxyContin, fentanyl and methadone has been a crucial factor in a nationwide epidemic of overdose deaths, largely from the abuse of such drugs.
In an unusual move, a state government is developing regulations meant to stop doctors from prescribing higher doses of powerful — and often dangerous — pain killers for patients who are not benefiting from them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/business/29pain.html
