Recently in Indiana, a new prescription drug called Opana has claimed the lives of nine young people. This dangerous new drug is quickly becoming the new craze in small towns across the country. In places where meth and Oxycontin once ruled, Opana is now taking over as the drug of choice. The reason this is happening is because Oxycontin is now produced in a way that makes it very difficult to crush up. Many addicts used to crush Oxycontin so that they could ingest it by snorting it. However, Opana is produced in a way that it can be easily crushed and snorted.
Prescription Drug Abuse
Prescription drug abuse causes more accidental deaths annually than cocaine and heroine combined. Opana is only going to increase this statistic. An addiction to Opana can have potentially devastating health consequences for users. According to a new study done by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claims that rural residents are twice as likely to overdose from prescription painkillers as people in large cities. Increasingly, law enforcement in these small towns are finding young people dead from accidental overdoses on prescription painkillers more and more.
Societal Problems
Here in Florida, the number of deaths as a result of overdosing on painkillers has risen dramatically. In 2010, for example, there were 493 cases involving accidental deaths, which is more than a hundred more cases than the previous year. One of the main, underlying, issues with prescription abuse is the fact that many Americans think that they can have their problems solved by a pill. We are a society that demands instant gratification. Unfortunately, this leads to very dangerous thinking and behavior. Doctor’s may be just as much to blame, as they are the ones who continually shill out prescriptions for very powerful medications to those who may not really need them.
Obtaining Prescription Drugs
Opana can be easily obtained from hospitals and pharmacies, as well as from patients with valid prescriptions. Then it is distributed and sold illegally on the streets across America. Common practices among addicts to obtain these drugs include faking calls in order to obtain refills, buying the same prescription medicine from several health care providers or physicians, and even by faking prescriptions. There are even some unscrupulous internet retailers that sell the drug on the web to anyone, regardless if they have a prescription or not. Use of a drug in any way beyond that recommended by a qualified medical practitioner constitutes abuse.
The abuse of prescription painkillers has become an epidemic in our country. There are many factors that have led us to where we are today. However, instead of playing the blame game with one another, it is time to get serious and educate our young people about the danger they are putting themselves in by abusing prescription drugs. Without us teaching them, they have no earthly idea that they are literally putting their freedom and lives in jeopardy. If you or someone you know is suffering from an addiction to prescription painkillers, such as Opana, it is imperative that you get to a drug rehab facility as quickly as you can.