Experts Clash over Narcotic Painkillers
The Drug-Free Alliance sides with the DEA on restricting access to pain medication due to the millions of people abusing the prescription drugs, despite protest from pain doctors.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the drug category with the largest number of new users in the previous year was non medical use of pain relievers (2.4 million new users), which was more than marijuana or cocaine.
In the face of these statistics, several doctors in the American Academy of Pain Medicine are complaining that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is ignoring the needs of pain specialists and their patients to have less restricted access to the drugs.
A pain doctor who previously had worked to collaborate with the Administration on the issue wrote one of several commentaries in the February 2006 issue of the journal Pain Medicine, which is published by the Academy. The argument claimed that prescription drug abuse can be curbed without the undermining of pain patients to serve society’s interests, yet some type of Legislative intervention appears necessary given the steady increase in availability and abuse of prescription narcotics. Headed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), more states are implementing prescription drug monitoring programs.
The annual Monitoring the Future survey found that the use of prescription painkillers steadily increased from 1992 to 2002 and there has been little change since then. Specifically noted was a 40 percent increase in the abuse of Oxycontin among 12th-graders from 2002 to 2005. One of the lead researchers in the study exclaimed that this is one of the few classes of drugs in which there has not been improvement after the rise in non-medical use.
While these figures don’t necessarily include pain management cases, the number of overall prescriptions for narcotic
“I have spoken with many individuals and family members around the country over the years who are trying to deal with prescription drug addiction that started with some type of accident or injury,” claims Lucas A Catton, President of the Foundation for Social Improvement.
As a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor, Catton recognizes the need for a serious societal shift regarding the overabundance of prescription drugs in America, which is why the Foundation started the Drug-Free Alliance initiative to promote drug-free living.
“Yes, there are extreme cases where patients justifiably need strong relief from their pain,” concedes Lucas, “but someone has to take responsibility for the millions of people that are hooked on these drugs, which is an epidemic that is much more real that the bird flu – it’s happening now.”
The Drug-Free Alliance encourages patients to become more educated on non-traditional methods of dealing with pain and exploring all options of alternative therapy and specialists, implying that the use of addictive drugs should be a last resort.
In the past decade, strong evidence has been accumulated regarding the benefits of mind-body therapies, acupuncture, and some nutritional supplements for treating pain, according to an article posted on WebMD. Other alternative therapies such as massage, chiropractic therapies, therapeutic touch, certain herbal therapies, and dietary approaches have the potential to alleviate pain in some cases as well.
For more information on prescription drug abuse trends or to find resources supporting drug-free living, visit the Drug-Free Alliance website at www.drug-freealliance.org.
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Original post by Luke Catton
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