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HomeUncategorizedLetters to the EditorMisuse of prescription drugs a big problem here

Misuse of prescription drugs a big problem here

Posted by Mark Chapman on July 4th, 2010 at 3:40 am

An arti­cle now on one of the inside pages is about the prob­lem of pre­scrip­tion drugs in Florida. I would like to address this to the Engle­wood area.

Entire let­ter is avail­able to non-subscribers

Work­ing with the low-income fam­i­lies and home­less in our com­mu­nity has opened my eyes to how seri­ous this prob­lem is. A new report from the state’s med­ical exam­in­ers shows deaths from the pre­scrip­tion painkiller oxy­codone jumped 26 per­cent in the past year. Florida is the lead­ing source for the illicit pur­chase of pre­scrip­tion drugs, with addicts and deal­ers from across the South­east flock­ing to pain clinics.

Florida is finally launch­ing a data­base to track painkiller sales, which can make a huge dif­fer­ence in this prob­lem. This will help keep the same patient from receiv­ing nar­cotics from mul­ti­ple doctors.

Every­one knows this prob­lem exists. It is like the huge ele­phant in your liv­ing room. Some say it is just to big to han­dle. The power of one can change every­thing. You need to be part of the solu­tion. If you have a fam­ily mem­ber who is abus­ing pre­scrip­tion drugs and it is effect­ing the fam­ily life, you need to inter­cede. First talk to the doc­tor who is pre­scrib­ing these drugs, let him know you feel there is a prob­lem. Then talk to the phar­ma­cist that is fill­ing these pre­scrip­tions. Tak­ing these two small steps can make a dif­fer­ence in a loved ones life. You must also know, they will go to other doc­tors and other phar­ma­cies to ful­fill this need. Until this impor­tant data base is set up you can be the dif­fer­ence between life and death.

Pat Knox

Engle­wood

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