Ohio officials say they are making progress in the fight against prescription drug abuse. The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services says about one million fewer prescription pain pills will be dispensed in two Ohio counties this year compared with 2010.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder came to Tampa, Florida to announce the arrest of 22 people in Central Florida on charges of illegal prescription drug distribution.
A proposed Massachusetts bill would require doctors to participate in a prescription drug monitoring program. Currently participation in the program is voluntary.
Vermont police do not have access to the state’s prescription monitoring database, although the program receives funds from the federal Department of Justice.
Florida’s prescription drug trafficking law requires mandatory minimum sentences to be based on the total weight of the drugs found in someone’s possession, not the amount of controlled substance in the pills.
Each day, nearly 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Karen H. Perry, Executive Director of NOPE Task Force, explains the importance of safeguarding your medicines at home.
States are using prescription databases to deter “drug tourists” who travel to Florida and other states to load up on prescription painkillers and sell them across state lines.
An unknown number of blank prescription pads have been stolen from hospitals in New York City since 2008. The thefts are thought to be linked to gangs selling prescription painkillers illegally.
The use of antidepressants has jumped almost 400 percent in the last 20 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antidepressants are the third most common prescription drug in America, taken by 11 percent of those ages 12 and older.
A growing number of states are implementing stricter regulations on doctors who prescribe opioids, in an effort to cut down on prescription drug abuse.
Doctors and pharmacists can begin using Florida’s new drug monitoring database on Monday. The database is designed to reduce prescription drug abuse by preventing people from “doctor shopping” for painkillers.
An estimated 56 percent of parents in a Massachusetts survey say their children have access to parents’ prescription drugs at home. One in seven parents say they have given their children pain medication that was not prescribed for their child.
A study of people admitted for substance abuse treatment for the first time has found they waited an average of 15.6 years to seek help from the time they initially used the substance.
California physician Dr. Nazar Al Bussam is expected to be sentenced on Wednesday for writing tens of thousands of prescriptions for narcotic drugs and other painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose.
Medicare has been slow to react to the prescription drug abuse problem sweeping the nation, according to a new report.
The arrest of 37 people on drug charges at a Boeing aircraft plant last week puts the spotlight on the increasing problem of prescription drug abuse in the workplace, according to experts.
Maine is considering composting unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The Morning Sentinel reports the state hopes composting will be an inexpensive solution to disposing of medications.
Experts in the Chicago area say they are seeing more people facing drug addiction who are white, suburban and upper-middle class.
As the number of fatal overdoses from prescription painkillers grows, so does the number of doctors who are facing criminal charges for overprescribing painkillers and other controlled medications.
Cocaine, long thought of as the drug of choice in South Florida, is waning in popularity, the Miami Herald reports.
A mental health clinic in Louisville, KY, has stopped writing prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax because of concerns about abuse and overdoses. Experts say benzodiazepines, including Xanax, are often overlooked as a source of prescription drug abuse.
Elderly patients, who tend to take many medications prescribed by more than one doctor, are at risk for prescription drug abuse, the Miami Herald reports. Health experts are concerned about the increase in the number of patients over age 50 who require intervention and treatment for addiction to medication and other substances.
As a new Florida law banning “pill mills” takes effect, the number of applications filed with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for new pharmacies in the state has jumped, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The number of narcotic-related emergency room visits in New York City jumped 40 percent between 2004 and 2009, according to a survey by the city’s Department of Health.
Four states—Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia—have created the Interstate Prescription Drug Task Force to fight the region’s prescription drug abuse problem.
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