Prescription drug abuse next on media radar screen?

Jun/29/2008 07:31
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Prescription meds are the new drug of choice for rock and movie stars, some of whom have fallen prey to lethal doses. Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert was felled late last year after mixing opiates with Vicodin, and Dark Knight star Heath Ledger overdosed in January from a deadly cocktail of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine. Eva Mendes reportedly entered rehab earlier this year for prescription drug abuse, and the new film Charlie Bartlett is about a kid who sells drugs at school to become popular. And he doesn't sell weed, coke or smack; he sells prescription pills. So will it be only a matter of time before the media and Congress start to blame drug companies and DTC for prescription drug abuse?

On more than one occasion Howard Stern has gone on the radio to talk about using prescription drugs like Ambien. This is usually followed by a host of calls from listeners who talk about the “Ambien high”. So is it any wonder that prescription drugs are now the drugs of choice for our children?

It’ only a matter of time before some Senator or Congressman jumps on this bandwagon to get headlines which is sure to be followed by a report on one of the nightly news broadcasts. This will lead to the alarmist flag going up the flagpole and a call to reign in DTC for painkillers and sleep aids. You see in this age it’s easier to blame someone for their children’s bad behavior than take personal responsibility and right now the drug companies have a giant bulls-eye painted on their backs. Here is some ammunition that is sure to be used against pharma:


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  • More teens abuse prescription drugs than any illicit drug except marijuana.
  • The majority of teens who abuse prescription drugs get them easily and for free, primarily from friends and relatives.
  • Teens are also abusing some over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold remedies to get high,which is especially troubling given teens’ easy access to these products.
  • Many parents are not aware of teen prescription drug abuse. Teens say their parents are not discussing these dangers with them, even though research shows that parental disapproval is a powerful way to keep teens from using drugs.
  • Parents are in a unique position to immediately reduce teen access to prescription drugs because they are found in the home.
  • Teens are abusing prescription drugs because many believe the myth that these drugs provide a “safe” high and they are easily available.
  • There has been a dramatic increase in the number of poisonings and even deaths associated with the abuse of prescription and OTC drugs.
  • The prescription drugs most commonly abused by teens are painkillers, prescribed to treat pain; depressants, such as sleeping pills or anti-anxiety drugs; and stimulants, mainly prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  • You just know that this is going to lead to someone calling on an end to DTC for certain classes of drugs. Yes education will be part of the program but it’s much easier to point the finger at the evil drug companies.

I can tell you that when my Dad broke his hip and my Mother was suffering from lung cancer that pain killers were the only medication that allowed them to rest comfortably. There are a lot of people in this country who have chronic pain and without medication their lives would be unbearable.

The drug companies can be proactive in this area by taking some of that lobbying money and allocating it to the Office of National Drug Control Policy for education. Pharmacy chains could issue pain killers in ultra protective containers with the number of pills so that patients can keep track of them. In fact when someone is issues a medication that can be abused they should be asked if they have children in the household so that the pharmacist can give them information on prescription drug abuse.

Will the drug companies look at this proactively? Probably not until it gets more media attention and is on the nightly news.

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