Prescription Painkillers: A Godsend or a Devil’s Curse?

For those in severe pain, the past couple of decades have produced strong, long-lasting painkillers capable of alleviating pain that nothing else would touch. Hydrocodone (sold as Vicodin, Lortab and Lorcet) and oxydcodone (sold as OxyContin) have made life tolerable to many who previously had no resolution for their pain. At the same time, the millions of prescriptions for these drugs each year mean that the environment is flooded with narcotics that are easily abused for a high that may compare to heroin.

One quarter of all emergency room visits are associated with the abuse of prescription drugs. Abuse of prescription drugs between 1992 and 2003 grew seven times faster than the increase in the U.S. population. Painkillers are the most abused category of prescription drug, and are second only to marijuana as the top category of illicit drug use.

Hydrocodone is prescribed more than a million times a year and in many states, is the top prescription drug of abuse. Those wishing to abuse prescriptions acquire them from uncontrolled internet pharmacies, lying about symptoms to a doctor so they can get drugs, illegal sales, employee or pharmacy theft, prescription fraud, smuggling from a foreign country and doctor-shopping – visiting multiple doctors to obtain enough of a prescription drug to abuse.

“America uses 99% of the global supply of hydrocodone,” stated Derry Hallmark, Director of Admissions and Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor. Narconon Arrowhead is one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “Do we really suffer that much more pain than the rest of the world or have we just become too dependent on narcotics and other prescriptions?

“Red Ribbon Week from October 18th through October 26th serves as a reminder to all of us to make sure that our controlled prescriptions are locked up safely or are returned to a pharmacy for disposal if they are not needed any longer,” Mr. Hallmark continued. “Parents should be aware of changes in their children’s habits – secretive behavior, changes in diet, sleeping patterns, spending patterns or friends should alert a parent to look more closely in case their child has started abusing prescription drugs or other substances. Many of these substances are so addictive that abusers often need drug rehabilitation services to recover their former quality of life.”

Narconon Arrowhead offers long-term, drug-free drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and consultations and referrals for families seeking help for someone with a substance abuse problem. For more information, contact Narconon’s free addiction consultation and referral helpline at 1-800-468-6933.

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