Enid, Oklahoma Makes “Top 15” List of Addicted Cities

Making the Top 15 List of Addicted Cities is not exactly something the Enid Chamber of Commerce wants to promote to visitors. But perhaps it’s better that the citizens of Enid know the situation in their own town. According to research published in April 2017, this town of 50,000 residents has the fourth-highest rate of prescription drug abuse in the country.

How was this determined? Research has shown that more than 10% of the people in this town who get prescriptions for addictive painkillers abuse them, which is more than double the national rate.

What’s more, more than half the opioids prescribed in this town are abused, according to health research company Castlight.

Prescription Drug Abuse is Widespread in Oklahoma

This news is not really a surprise for Oklahomans involved with fighting addiction. Abuse of and addiction to prescription drugs has been a serious problem for many years. As evidence, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs Control, more than half of the state’s drug overdose deaths in 2015 were due to painkillers.

It’s a difficult problem to overcome. Once some of the state’s population learns to rely on painkillers – not for pain control but to make life’s problems go away – reversing this situation requires changes at many different levels.

There must be changes like these:

• Doctors must learn to manage patient pain without painkillers when possible, and prescribe a minimal number of pills for short-term pain. That way, medicine chests don’t have half-filled bottles of pills that can be filched by youth in the home or visitors. And the person for whom they were once properly prescribed can’t reach for them in moments of high stress so they can get that warm and fuzzy feeling back.

• Doctors must also know how to identify an addicted patient and must be competent at caring for that patient until he (or she) has been weaned off the drugs and is healthy again.
• Youth must be taught the life-threatening risk of misusing any pills.
• Coaches must be alert for any drug misuse by young athletes who get injured while playing.
• And one of the most important changes of all is that effective drug rehabilitation must be available to those who have learned to use painkillers or other drugs to get through life.

Oklahoma Has Narconon Arrowhead as a Valuable Resource

Narconon of Oklahoma has welcomed more than ten thousand individuals through its doors to help them reclaim their sobriety. This long-term program uses no drugs while helping people recover from their past addictions. In the fifty-year history of this rehab program, it’s never been necessary to give people more addictive substances while they’re trying to get sober. Instead, using healthy, holistic methods, we help them gain the skills and the awareness they need to launch their new sobriety. Those of us at Narconon Arrowhead are very proud of our sixteen years in this Pittsburg County location, helping not only our neighbors but people in need from all over the country.

If you care about someone who is trapped in addiction, call us. We understand addiction and we know about recovery. Call 1-855-646-8505 today.