New Source: JusticeNewsFlash.com
07/15/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan
Washington, DC—A survey concerning prescription drug abuse revealed a staggering increase in the number of treatment admissions related to the issue. According to information provided in a Thursday, July 15, 2010 Tulsa World report, the number of substance abuse treatment admissions rose 400 percent from 1998 to 2008.
The survey took into account the misuse of prescription drugs amongst all individuals, noting that this type of drug abuse could be seen in all regions of the United States.
Of all the people admitted into treatment centers for substance abuse in 1998, 2.2 percent of patients had problems with prescription painkillers.
In 2008, on the other hand, individuals abusing prescription pain relievers accounted for 9.8 percent of all drug-related treatment admissions.
“These findings should serve as exclamation points to punctuate what we already know… Abuse of prescription drugs is our country’s fastest-growing drug problem, the source of which lurks far too often in our home medicine cabinets,” explained R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Policy (ONDCP).
According to a SeattlePI.com report, car accidents are no longer the leading cause of injury-related fatalities in the state of Washington. The new culprit, affecting individuals between the ages of 35 and 54, was deemed to be prescription drug-induced overdoses.
Prescription medication overdoses reportedly increased 90 percent from 2003 to 2008. In 2008 alone, prescription drug overdoses claimed the lives of 505 people and landed 646 others in the hospital.
ONDCP’s deputy director Thomas McLellan maintained, “Our national prescription drug abuse problem cannot be ignored.”
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