Prescription Painkiller Abuse On The Rise In Florida Despite States Efforts

Despite repeated statewide efforts to curtail prescription drug use and abuse

, including busting pill mills and imposing heavier penalties on those found to be abuse drugs, the rates of prescription drug overdoses continue to climb in the state of Florida.

According to recent statistics, in 2009, 2,488 people in Florida died because of prescription drug overdoses. In 2010, those numbers rose to 2,710 a whopping 9%. Undoubtedly the worst culprit is Oxycodone, which claimed the lives of 1,516 people in 2010. That number also rose from the 2009 figure and was three times the number of deaths attributed to cocaine overdose.

On average, seven people a day will die of drug overdoses in the state of Florida. And these addictions are only getting fed by crooked doctors who hand out prescriptions like candy. Law enforcement continues to crack down on those doctors by suspending their licenses and even throwing them in jail.

Authorities in Florida also closely monitor the number of prescriptions being ordered from drug companies by pharmacies and the number of prescriptions being dispensed from pharmacies. While those efforts have helped, there is still more work to be done. Some drug rehabilitation programs can be too expensive for the middle to lower income population, who instead, wind up in jail. Nothing is done in jail to help them cope with their addictions, so once they are released, they resort back to abusing drugs and the vicious cycle continues.

Governor Rick Scott has vowed that the states efforts to curtail prescription drug abuse will continue. Scott reports that the sale of oxycodone is down 17% at pharmacies in the first five months of 2011. Theres no guarantee this statistic will remain consistent throughout the year, but its promising.

It certainly offers the people of Florida hope in what has become not just a statewide epidemic, but a national one too. Even teenagers are abusing prescription painkillers. What starts out as sneaking into mom or dads medicine cabinet or taking painkillers after surgery turns into a full-blown dependence and then addiction.

High schoolers in Florida are throwing pill parties and inadvertently taking lethal cocktails of oxycodone, xanax, and other drugs, mixing them with alcohol, only magnifying the depressant effects on the central nervous system. By the time parents even realize their child is suffering from addiction, it can be too late.

If youre convinced that you or someone you know is suffering from prescription drug addiction, contact a drug treatment program today. Help is available and recovery is possible. Dont wait until its too late.

by: Laine McKenna

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