PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS
One Percent of Doctors Responsible for 25 Percent of Opiate Prescriptions – A Look at Overprescribing
Sometimes we want to blame the medical community for the opiate epidemic our nation is now stuck in. But as it turns out, the vast majority of doctors have nothing to do with the overprescribing of addictive pain meds. In fact, only a small percentage of doctors are contributing to this serious problem.
Medical Marijuana Is Not the Answer to the Opioid Epidemic
As interest in marijuana use has moved forward (partially thanks to state legislation), some proponents of the cannabis movement have said that medical marijuana might be a solution to the opioid epidemic.
How Do We Treat Addiction and Pain?
The issue with opioid pain relievers has the appearance of one of those unsolvable paradoxes. If we reduce access to opioid pharmaceuticals considerably, patients who experience chronic and severe pain issues might not be able to access pain relief. But in that same token, if we continue to accept opioid pharmaceuticals as standard medical practice and utilize them to the degree that we are, millions of Americans will become addicted to them, and thousands will die from overdoses on them. That is the brutal truth of the matter.
Should Medical Schools Teach Doctors about Addiction?
In a nation stuck in its worst addiction epidemic yet, one would think that our medical professionals would be fully prepared to help addicted patients. But quite the opposite is true. In fact, according to Jan Hoffman’s paper for CNBC, only about 15 out of 180 medical programs in the U.S. teach their medical students about addiction to alcohol, drugs, or tobacco.
Teens and Prescription Drug Abuse
An area of drug abuse that needs to be talked about more is teen prescription drug abuse. Research shows that teens and young people, in general, are abusing prescription drugs with growing prevalence, and that is something to be worried about.
Types of Prescription Painkillers
Prescription painkillers are a growing problem in this country as the opioid epidemic only continues to become worse. The increasing number of prescriptions being written is adding to this figure and so is the occurrence of abuse and addiction to these drugs.
