There are very few “antidotes” when it comes to drugs. You drink too much booze and you can only snooze it off. However, the drug Narcan can completely sober up individuals who are over-dosing heroin or even OxyContin.

Victims of overdose given this drug, often by firefighters or other emergency personnel, recover within minutes. Usually it only takes a couple of squirts of Narcan up the nostrils to do the trick.

The drug, widely sold under its generic name, naloxone, counteracts the effects of heroin, OxyContin and other powerful painkillers and has been routinely used by ambulance crews and emergency rooms in the U.S. for decades. This as reported by the AP.

While only available to emergency personnel in the past, public health officials across the nation are distributing it to the public, specifically addicts and their loved ones.

It is estimated that such giveaways could save as many as 10,000 lives per year in the United States.

Those opposing the free distribution of Narcan think that it will keep more addicts from seeking help. I think that is total nonsense. It will save lives.

I think this is especially pertinent given the current situation with respect to drug addiction. Heroin overdose deaths in the U.S. nearly doubled over the last decade, from 1,725 in 1999 to 3,278 in 2009. During the same period, deadly overdoses from opiate-like drugs, including painkillers, have nearly quadrupled, from 4,030 to 15,597.

So how does Narcan work? It works by blocking certain drug receptors in the brain. It has no effect on alcohol or cocaine overdoses but can be used against such painkillers as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin.

The state of Massachusetts has spent $841,000 on Narcan this year and estimates it will save as many as 1,300 lives.

Does it work? Just look at New Mexico for proof.

In New Mexico, which has one of the highest drug overdose death rates in the country, health officials estimate the statewide naloxone distribution program that began in 2001 has counteracted 3,000 overdoses.

Do any of you think this is a bad idea? I f so, please share your thoughts with us. I think a quick wake-up from a near-death experience has the potential to shake any addict into sobriety!

Who would have though t the day would come that deaths from drug overdoses would be higher than those in automobile accidents? This has not happened in more than 100 years. Basically, it hasn’t happened since Henry Ford rolled out the Model-T.

Scary, Huh?

In 2009, the first time in modern history, the number of deaths in the United States due to drug overdoses have surpassed the number of fatalities caused by auto accidents. You can bet that surging prescription drug abuse is a primary reason!

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 37,485 people died from a drug overdose in 2009, compared to 36,284 who died in car and truck accidents that same year.

While some of the drug deaths were accidental overdoses, the numbers are being driven by skyrocketing rates of prescription drug abuse, particularly involving powerful painkillers like OxyContin, fentanyl and morphine.

Deaths from automobile accidents have seen a steady decline due to new laws and safety campaigns . But law enforcement, like everyone else, is at a loss to turn around the rising prescription drug addiction and abuse rates.

One Death Every 14 Minutes

It has been estimated that drug abuse causes a death in the U.S. every 14 minutes. However, this is the first time there have been more drug deaths than auto accident fatalities since tracking of drug overdoses began in 1979.

It is clear that two things are needed. First is more drug classes. You cannot have too much drug education. Second, are stronger laws. We need to slow down this trend of drug use and abuse in the US.

Source: http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/drug-overdose-deaths-exceed-auto-accident-deaths-21227/

Pill mill doctors need the book thrown at them. This scourge of society has got to be reined in firmly and know what they are doing is not only criminal, it’s lethal!

A California doctor linked to a string of drug deaths and dubbed the “Candy Man” was arrested by federal agents on charges of trafficking huge quantities of powerful painkillers to addicts and women who provided sexual favors in exchange for the drugs.

Two female patients taken to a hospital emergency room indicated they were among numerous people who used sex to pay for drugs from suspect Julio Gabriel Diaz.

Some patients diverted the pills to the black market or suffered fatal overdoses. One man who died in November was prescribed over 2000 pills in the six weeks before he died.

Is He A Murderer?

Diaz, 63, is accused of supplying OxyContin, Vicodin and Norco and other drugs to addicts with no legitimate need for the powerful narcotics. He was arrested at his Goleta home.

He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Court documents say a dozen deaths have been linked to Diaz — over ten overdoses and a patient who died of natural causes with drug abuse as a contributing factor.

Diaz said that even in some cases in which he suspected a patient was abusing drugs, he would continue prescribing so that he could manage what they were taking.

Diaz has not been charged in connection with the deaths, which remain under investigation. A study by an insurance company documented nearly $1,000,000 in claims for prescriptions written by Diaz over a three-year period, the affidavit said.

A Cottage Hospital (in Santa Barbara) psychiatric therapist told investigators that “people referred to Diaz as the ‘Candy Man’ and that people drove from out of town to see him ‘because they knew he was the man to go to for drugs.’”

Shameful behavior by a man trusted to help make people well, not ill!

The term “Hillbilly Heroin” was coined in reference to the proclivity of the use of Oxycontin in the state of West Virginia – primarily in the Appalachian Mountains.

Prescription drug abuse is a problem that affects every part of the region, and it could soon be getting worse.

It’s Going to get Worse!

Hydrocodone is the second most abused medication. Now, drug companies are working to create a pill that would be 10 times more powerful than what is on the market now.

That’s causing some serious concerns with law enforcement, and families who know firsthand how devastating prescription pill abuse can be.

The number of overdose deaths in West Virginia increased from 20 in 2001 to 51 in 2008. They hit a high of 76 in 2006.

Data for the last few years is still incomplete, but police expect the numbers to be way up. For example: State Police in Boone County investigated three overdose deaths in 2009, 11 in 2010, and 19 in 2011.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for these types of medications. The problem isn't in the appropriate use. The problem is in the abuse.

As more drugs hit pharmacy shelves, there needs to be a change in culture. That means more education for patients and children.

Drug education classes are an important place to begin. West Virginia and the rest of the nation must find a way to deal with the prescription drug abuse problem!

True or false – if you get arrested you are likely to have illegal drugs in your system? The answer is true!

Up to 83% of people arrested in major cities across the United States test positive for drug use and almost one-third of all arrestees test positive for the presence of multiple substances.

Marijuana was the most commonly used drug among the arrestees booked into jails in 10 U.S. cities.

The Office of National Drug Control's (ONDCP) Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM II) study is the only federal survey that uses a urine test to confirm self-reported information about recent drug use. The 2010 survey included 4,700 males 18 years and older who were involved with the criminal justice system.

Chicago is Leader

They were being booked into county jails in Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Indianapolis, IN, Minneapolis, MN, New York, NY, Portland, OR, Sacramento, CA, and Washington, DC.

The survey and drug tests for any substance showed that drug use among arrestees ranged from 52% in Washington DC to 83% in Chicago. Those who tested for multiple drugs in their system ranged from 11% in Washington DC to 38% in Sacramento.

The 2010 survey showed that for males under age 21 the use of meth and cocaine is declining, while positive tests for prescription drugs, mainly pain killers, and heroin is increasing.

Increasing Abuse of Pain Killers

More than 5% of arrestees 21 and under are being booked into jails with opioids in their blood stream. This confirms other national surveys that indicate a large increase in prescription drug abuse across all age groups.

There also has been an increase of Oxycodone and heroin use in men under the age of 21.

A Burden on Taxpayers

The number of drug users among the 40,000 who are booked into his jail every year taxes the jail's nursing staff who work around the clock every day treating withdrawal symptoms. It adds an additional financial burden to the counties.

Add fetuses to the growing list of those addicted to prescription medication. No, that is not a typo, and really should come as no surprise.

Medical authorities are witnessing explosive growth in the number of newborn babies hooked on prescription painkillers, innocent victims of their mothers' addictions.

National statistics on the number of babies who go through withdrawal are not available, and states with the worst problems have only begun to collect data. Scattered reports show the number of addicted newborns has doubled, tripled or more over the past decade. In Florida, the epicenter of the illicit prescription drug trade, the number of babies with withdrawal syndrome soared from 354 in 2006 to 1,374 in 2010, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

In response to the growing severity of the problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics convened a committee this year to revise its treatment guidelines for the babies. The new guidelines are set to be published next year.

The trend reflects how deeply rooted abuse of powerful narcotics, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, has become. Prescription drug abuse is the nation's fastest-growing drug problem, classified as an epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I'm scared to death this will become the crack-baby epidemic," says Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Last month, she asked the state Legislature to establish a task force to compile data on drug-exposed babies and develop prevention strategies.

Anyone who lived through that epidemic knows we have to take serious precautions when pregnant. Hopefully, pregnant mothers will cease using prescription medications and keep their fetuses healthy. A good online drug class is a good place to start and learn about the dangers of prescription painkillers.

This is a storyline that you hear every day. Until some serious controls are put in place, and people are made aware of the dangers of taking prescription medication, you are going to hear it time and again!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one American dies of a drug overdose every 14 minutes ... with a rapidly increasing share of those deaths caused by prescription drugs. It's the sort of statistic law enforcement officials in one Florida county know about all too well.

Instead of chasing drugs from abroad, police say their biggest problem now comes from a doctor's office.  After years of spotty regulation, Florida is still awash in prescription painkillers, like Oxycontin, the brand name for Oxycodone.

Staggering Figures

And the effect has been lethal: In Florida alone, seven people die of prescription drug overdose every 24 hours.

Nationwide, prescription drug overdose has surpassed traffic accidents as the leading cause of accidental death.

And Florida is the epicenter:

Police surveillance tape captures a Pinellas County pain clinic - run by a licensed doctor as a cash-only convenience store for prescription painkillers, or pill mill - and the customers can't seem to get in fast enough.

"People literally line up in the morning, wait for the doors to open," said Chief Deputy Bob Gualtieri. "They swarm inside.

"I hate to even call them 'doctors,'" Gualtieri said. "Because they're really not doctors. They're people who hold a medical license, but they're really not practicing medicine. And you pay a cash fee."

These are drug dealers – nothing more, nothing less!

As part of their efforts, police also are arresting the visitors of these “pill mills” as they leave.

If the detectives can get them for the smallest violation - maybe they don't put their seatbelt on when they drive away - that's a reason to pull them over, and most of the time something else is going on in that car.

Police follow one car for a few blocks, then pull him over for the seatbelt violation - and find he's carrying a handful of prescriptions. They suspect this "patient" may be a prescription drug dealer - going from doctor to doctor, stockpiling supplies.

After a few phone calls to the doctors, he's arrested on suspicion of doctor shopping - a felony that carries a jail term of up to five years.

The pill mills are very profitable. The local pharmacy sells generic pills for about a dollar a pill. You could sell it locally, on the street, for $15 to $20 a pill. You could take it up north in some places and sell it for $30 a pill.

No doubt these “pill mills” need to be shut down. If not, this problem is only going to get worse.

Recently I blogged about Boeing being known for more than just airplanes. Now they are known for having a large group of employees arrested for selling prescription medication on company property.

The arrest of more than three dozen people on drug charges at a Boeing military aircraft plant highlights the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by U.S. workers.

Federal authorities last Thursday charged 37 people, all but one of them current or former Boeing employees, with selling or trying to buy painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs at the company’s suburban Philadelphia plant.

The federal drug raid on the plant that makes key U.S. military aircraft followed four years of stealth operations as agents infiltrated the factory and found workers to cooperate in undercover deals, authorities said.

But outside such investigations, detecting prescription drug abuse among U.S. employees is generally harder than it is for other kinds of illicit drug use, such as marijuana or cocaine.

Many employer drug tests now in use would not catch workers abusing painkillers or some other prescription medications.

Only 12 percent of the 4.5 million drug tests conducted last year tested for Oxycontin, a powerful painkiller, according to Quest Diagnostics, the biggest U.S. drug tester for employers. Oxycontin was one of the four types of prescription drugs found at the Boeing factory.

Also, three-quarters of all drug tests happen before someone is hired, Quest said, making it difficult to detect workers who get addicted to drugs on the job.

Even with the gaps in testing, evidence shows that prescription drug abuse on the job is on the rise.

Forty percent more American workers tested positive for prescription opiates, or painkillers, in 2009, than in 2005, said Quest.

Those drugs were also linked to more workplace accidents, the company said.

Action by Obama Administration

While prescription drug abuse usually makes headlines when tied to celebrities, experts say it is not surprising the problem has spread beyond Hollywood.

Some 2.7 percent of Americans reported using prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in 2010, according to a yearly survey released earlier this month by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA.

The numbers treated for prescription painkiller abuse rose 400 percent over the past decade, according to 2010 figures.

Such statistics prompted President Barack Obama’s administration in April to launch a fight against what it called a prescription drug abuse epidemic.

No study has looked at which industries have the highest incidence of prescription drug abuse.

Federal drug regulations do not require testing for prescription drug abuse for federal employees.

With this problem growing more dire by the day we can only hope that we can rest assured our government employees are not high while on the job.

While seniors may not be the most computer-literate generation, more and more are coming of age to where they are comfortable with the internet of the computer and the Internet. Seniors are abusing prescription drugs and it is costing Americans plenty. A good online drug class may be the answer.

How Bad is the Problem?

Prescription drug abuse by elderly and disabled beneficiaries of Medicare cost the U.S. program nearly $150 million in 2008, highlighting an area where the government can seek to save health costs.

According to a government report some of these patients went to at least five doctors to get multiple prescriptions of drugs that are often abused.

In all, 170,000 people enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program went "doctor shopping" for drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, powerful painkillers that can lead to addiction, according to the report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Those 170,000 who possibly abused the system were 1.8 percent of the patients who had prescriptions for these commonly abused drugs.

The study began in 2010, using data from 2008, the latest year then available. Medicare enrolled about 43 million people in 2008.

In one example, one individual received prescriptions from 87 different doctors during that year. Senator Scott Brown, a Republican from Massachusetts, dubbed it "taxpayer-funded drug dealing" at a hearing about the issue on Tuesday.

Brown said oxycodone could sell for over $5,000 in some areas of the country.

"Medicare Part D beneficiaries are abusing powerful drugs to fill their own addictions or to sell them on the street," said Delaware Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat and chairman of a subcommittee on federal financial management. "The controls ... put in place haven't

Fighting Medicare fraud has gained renewed urgency in recent months as a committee of Republicans and Democrats seeks ways to cut the nation's ballooning budget deficit ahead of a November deadline.

Everyone always has an angle to screw the government out of taxpayer money. We're just doing things so inefficiently, it's mind-boggling.

When you think of Boeing what comes to mind? Airplanes, of course. Ah, but a lot more goes on at Boeing besides aircraft!

Agents from the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested employees and former employees of Boeing’s Ridley Park, Pennsylvania plant and one non-employee in a coordinated, long-term, undercover effort aimed at prescription drug abuse at the manufacturing plant.

Of course, the company, Boeing, is in no way culpable here, but this certainly is press that the company does not need as it continues to battle Airbus for supremacy in the aircraft industry. Of course, like many companies, including General Electric, Boeing is most definitely diversified in to many industries.

Indictments against 23 individuals were unsealed today charging each with the illegal distribution of a prescription drug. The drugs being distributed by these defendants include but are not limited to fentanyl (Actiq), oxycodone (Oxycontin), alprazolam (Xanax), and buprenorphine (Suboxone). The charges allege that each defendant either sold a controlled substance to an FBI cooperator or bought what was believed to be a controlled substance from the cooperator but which was, in fact, a placebo.

The drugs were being distributed on Boeing’s property. Boeing officials brought their suspicions of drug activity to federal law enforcement and have cooperated fully with the long-term investigation.

Drug abuse and the illegal sale and purchase of controlled substances are serious criminal problems in the U.S. today. The abuse of prescription narcotic drugs can be as dangerous and devastating as the use of illegal drugs.

Well, if there is a positive side to this thing it is Boeing – they didn’t try to sweep something under the rug and stood up and helped law enforcement.