Prescription Drug Abuse

Some addiction experts say the U.S. government’s fight against prescription drug abuse may have inadvertently contributed to the rise in heroin use, according to The Washington Post.

A new survey of affluent women treated for alcohol and drug addiction finds prescription medication and heroin are their leading drugs of choice.

We have witnessed substance abuse problems spread from community to community, seemingly unabated. The National Rx Drug Abuse Summit is helping to meet challenges head-on through an unprecedented collaboration, says Dan Smoot of Operation Unite.

People who frequently abuse opioid painkillers are more likely to get the drugs from a doctor’s prescription or a dealer, rather than for free from family or friends, a new study finds.

The Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta is encouraging the public to text or call them to report suspicious activity that may indicate prescription drug abuse, according to CNN.

The Department of Defense needs to do more to prevent prescription drug abuse among members of the military, according to a new government report. Some branches of the military are doing a better job than others in medication management policies, the report concluded.

Advocates say the need to curb the abuse of prescription (Rx) opiates is more urgent than ever, due to a growing epidemic of Rx overdoses from pain medication in Massachusetts and across the country, according The Boston Globe.

A growing number of people switch back and forth between prescription painkillers and heroin, experts tell The New York Times. They call prescription opiates “heroin lite.”

A new government report finds fewer teens are abusing prescription painkillers or smoking.

With nearly half of state prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) sharing data via the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® PMP InterConnect® program, the system is successfully helping states in their efforts to protect patient health and lower rates of prescription drug abuse and diversion.

Deaths from heroin and prescription drugs more than doubled last year at the Jersey Shore, a locale well known as a vacation destination. Three people in Ocean County, New Jersey have already died in 2014 from drug overdoses, according to NBC News.

A new campaign in Colorado, to be unveiled Wednesday, aims to reduce prescription drug abuse among teens, The Denver Post reports.

A new study suggests a connection between misuse of prescription drugs and incidents of dating violence.

Ohio is launching a new initiative to encourage parents to speak with their children about the dangers of drug abuse. The increased use of prescription painkillers and heroin has led to a surge in drug overdoses in the state, the Associated Press reports.

Attorneys General from 42 U.S. states and territories are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require drug companies to ensure generic prescription opioids have abuse-deterrent features.

The Ohio Attorney General’s office is investigating complaints that some people are abusing drugs prescribed for pets, or intentionally abusing animals to obtain painkillers.

The American College of Physicians, one of the nation’s largest medical groups, has released a set of recommendations about how doctors can help reduce prescription drug abuse.

Slightly less than 1 percent of anesthesiology residents in the United States have a substance use disorder, according to a new study. The incidence of substance use has been increasing, and relapse rates are not improving, the researchers said.

Cancer groups from around the world say millions of cancer patients are not able to obtain painkillers because of laws designed to fight drug abuse.

A report by U.S. and Canadian officials concludes only about half of prescription drugs and other “chemicals of emerging concern” are removed from sewage by treatment plants.

The U.S. Senate this week passed a measure that will establish a system to track prescription drugs from the time they are manufactured until they are sold at a drugstore, The News & Observer reports. The bill awaits President Obama’s signature.

Prescription drug abuse continues to be the nation’s fastest growing drug problem, according to a new report by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Americans are abusing prescription drugs at a higher prevalence rate than any illicit drug except marijuana.

Positive workplace tests for marijuana and cocaine have dropped sharply since 1988, while tests revealing prescription drug abuse are increasing, according to a study by the medical-testing company Quest Diagnostics Inc.

A new Pew Research Center survey finds only 16 percent of Americans think the nation is making progress on prescription drug abuse, and 19 percent see progress in dealing with mental illness.

Deaths due to drug poisoning have tripled in the last three decades, a new study concludes. The study included poisonings from both illegal and prescription drugs, according to U.S. News & World Report.