How bad is America’s prescription drug problem? If the state of Kentucky is any example, it is pretty darn bad.
According to a recent poll, one-third of Kentucky adults have friends or relatives who have experienced problems from abusing prescription pain relievers, and 8 percent have used pain medicine when it wasn't prescribed or for the feeling it caused. That is 1/3 of every person in the state! As reported in www.weku.fm.
If you narrow it down with age-banding it gets even scarier. Almost half (49%) of those aged 18-29 have friends or relatives who have suffered or currently suffer from addiction to pain medication. In the 30-45-year-old bracket 40% report problems with prescription pain meds, as compared to the 25% of those 46-65.
The poll found that young adults are more likely to have the problem. Among those 18 to 29 years old, 13 percent said they had used pain medicine when it wasn't prescribed or for the feeling it caused.
It is not surprising that drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky correspond to a steep increase in the sales of opioid prescription pain relievers, which include OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet and codeine. More than half of Kentucky adults in the poll reported being prescribed such drugs.
Do you think mandatory Kentucky drug classes would help curb this problem? Should doctors come under strict monitoring? I respect your opinions too.