Prescription Drug Addiction Blog

Prescription drug abuse and addiction continues to grow throughout the country, and there is no immediate end in sight. It affects young people because they often don't view prescription drugs as being as dangerous as street drugs, and older Americans who are given these drugs are becoming addicted simply from the tolerance and abuse potential of the drugs.

States like West Virginia, as reported in Business Week, have introduced legislation to try and combat their growing problem. Prescription opiates are the biggest problem, which include painkillers such as methadone, oxycodone and hydrocodone products. One of the most effective ways to fight "doctor shopping" is an attempt to have a prescription drug monitoring system in place where pharmacists can access a database of information to see how often and how recently people have tried to get prescriptions filled at other places. While it's not a fool-proof method, it certainly throws an extra net on trying to catch problems before they get worse.

Of course, just like with illicit drugs, the question of what to do when people are caught forging prescriptions or buying the drugs off the street is how to handle the individuals. A heavy-handed law enforcement approach doesn't work that often, and it is much better for both those caught in the trap of prescription drug addiction as well as society as a whole to try and give them a chance to attend successful addiction treatment centers.