A national survey released Wednesday finds 5.3 percent of young adults used prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes in the past month, similar to rates in the previous two years. The survey found rates of teen drinking, including binge drinking, in the past month were lower last year compared with 2002 and 2009.
A new government report finds a link between prescription drug abuse and an increased risk of heroin use. Americans ages 12 to 49 who illegally use prescription drugs are 19 times more likely than others in their age group to begin using heroin, the report found.
A new poll finds 10 percent of Americans admit they have taken someone else’s prescription drugs. One-quarter of those people used the drugs to get high.
Purdue Pharma, which makes the opioid painkiller OxyContin, has compiled a database of about 1,800 doctors it suspects may have recklessly prescribed the drug to people addicted to it, as well as to drug dealers, the Los Angeles Times reports. The company has kept most of the list private.
As a growing number of doctors use urine drug tests in an effort to detect prescription drug abuse in their patients, they face ethical questions about the tests, according to The New York Times.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced this week that the number of doses of opioid painkillers that were prescribed in the state have dropped in the last year, since he signed a new law designed to cut down on prescription drug abuse.
The national association representing pharmacy benefits managers, which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans, has released recommendations aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse and fraud in Medicare.
Arkansas is focusing on reducing prescription drug overdoses, which account for about one death daily in the state. State officials are working with health providers, law enforcement and educators to reduce abuse rates, according to the Associated Press.
Recent media reports paint emergency physicians as the source behind the recent dramatic rise in prescription drug abuse. We aren't. Despite certain perceptions to the contrary, we actually account for a very low percentage of all narcotics prescribed, explains a physician from the American College of Emergency Physicians.
An increasing number of doctors who treat chronic pain are requiring their patients who take opioids to submit to urine drug tests. The doctors are trying to avoid being held responsible if patients die from painkiller overdoses, The Wall Street Journal reports.
People who “doctor shop” bought an estimated 4.3 million prescriptions for opioids such as Vicodin and OxyContin in 2008, a new study finds.
A New Jersey congressman announced this week he will introduce legislation aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse among Medicare participants. Frank Pallone, Jr., is proposing to increase the requirements for verifying the validity of prescriptions before Medicare pays for the drugs.
Deaths from prescription painkillers are rising more quickly among women than men, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women’s deaths from the drugs have risen five-fold since 1999.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it has shut down 1,677 illegal online pharmacies, CNN reports. The websites sold counterfeit or substandard medications, or sold drugs without appropriate safeguards.
Medicare paid for prescriptions for drugs, including controlled substances such as oxycodone, written by professionals including massage therapists, home health aides and veterinarians, who were not authorized to do so, ABC News reports.
Almost 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescription medication, and more than half take at least two, according to a new study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic. The most common prescriptions are for antibiotics, antidepressants and opioid painkillers.
Google still isn’t doing enough to prevent illegal online sales of drugs without prescriptions, according to Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. He announced Tuesday he is sending out subpoenas for company documents, the Associated Press reports.
Officials in Kentucky will study the effectiveness of new laws designed to reduce prescription drug abuse, The Courier-Journal reports.
Urban Outfitters announced Friday it will discontinue selling products that promote prescription drug abuse. The move comes after a campaign by public health groups, state attorneys general and legislators.
A survey of eighth and ninth graders prescribed medication finds 83.4 percent say they have unsupervised access to the drugs at home.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida this week criticized state and local officials for releasing thousands of prescription drug records. The group asked to see documents related to the data release.
Walgreens on Tuesday agreed to pay $80 million in civil penalties, in order to resolve allegations by the Drug Enforcement Administration that the company violated federal rules regarding the distribution of prescription painkillers such as oxycodone.
Two-thirds of pharmacists and 90 percent of doctors in Florida are not using the state’s prescription drug database, according to federal officials. A bill that would have required both professions to use the database failed to pass during this year’s session.
A bill designed to increase the security of the prescription drug supply chain, to prevent stolen or counterfeit drugs, passed the U.S. House this week.
A growing number of children and teenagers are being accidentally poisoned by opioids and medications for adult chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, according to a new study.
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