Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction Rising During Recession

SYLMAR, CA, January 31, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Novus Medical Detox Facility of Pasco County, Florida (http://www.novusdetox.com) Director Steven L. Hayes notes that the increases in shipments of prescription painkillers don't tally with the numbers of legitimate prescriptions being written by doctors, and he states that the only solution to this influx of drugs is require Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, which are electronic databases that track prescriptions/ This will not only help doctors and pharmacists prevent doctor-shopping by victims of prescription drug addiction and abuse but also help locate these dangerous drugs that are not being accounted for today."Prescription drugs are the fastest-growing area of abuse and addiction," Hayes says. "The drug companies do not have an economic interest in solving that problem - the more sales the more profits. If this epidemic is going to be brought under control, it will be the only by the citizens demanding Congress to act."."

Kansas is one state that is experiencing this problem. "Without a doubt, there is an increase in the use of scheduled drugs in Kansas," said Jeff Brandau, a special agent at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. "Either Kansans are in a lot of pain," he told the Kansas City Star, "or something else is going on." That "something else" might be the recession driving the rise in prescription drug addiction and abuse.

Federal figures showed that shipments into Kansas of hydrocodone -- the active ingredient in Vicodin -- jumped by more than 300 percent since 2000, much of that just in the last year. Oxycodone, another commonly abused opioid and the active ingredient in OxyContin, was up more than 260 percent.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials told Congress in 2008 that prescription drug addiction and abuse is rising at "an alarming rate." More than 7 million Americans abuse prescription drugs, according to the DEA, an 80 percent increase in just the past six years.

Kansas has not yet passed Prescription Drug Monitoring legislation. "The intense lobbying of the drug companies combined with the recession is making funding for such programs increasingly difficult," Hayes states. "Some of those states that have passed legislation are finding themselves unable to fund it."

For those whose lives are being ruined by prescription drug abuse or addiction, there is medical drug detox. Medical drug detox is often a necessary step in dealing with addiction, abuse or dependence. While many medical detox programs take place in a hospital, Novus Medical Detox Center specializes in handling drug dependencies in a private setting that is stress-free, comfortable and safe. The facility, set on 3.2 wooded acres 45 minutes north of Tampa, Florida, offers private rooms with TV, DVD players and high speed internet access. Detoxification programs at Novus provide detox services for people wishing to withdraw from drugs including opiate detox, heroin detox, psychotropic detox, alcohol detox, benzodiazepine detox and prescription drug detox. They can be reached at 877-250-8267

Steven L. Hayes is Director of Novus Medical Detox Center in Pasco County, FL, 45 minutes north of Tampa (http://www.novusdetox.com). Steven hopes to become part of the solution for the millions of people who have become addicted to or dependent on prescription drugs; by educating them and their doctors; by insisting that pharmaceutical companies do honest, open and scientifically sound testing; and by providing a facility for medical detox that is comfortable, private and caring.