The Silent Epidemic — Legal Prescription Drug Abuse

Are you a junkie? Most people would automatically say “no,” but the face of the modern drug addict may shock you… Not a lot of attention is paid to prescription drug abuse. But nearly 20% of Americans have used prescription drugs for non medicinal reasons. Three quarters of those may be abusing prescription drugs. Between 1992 and 2002, the number of prescriptions written increased by 61%. In that same period, the number of prescriptions written for opiates increased by almost 400%.

The Baltimore Sun reports: “According to a report … by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers jumped 65% from 1999 to 2006. One-third of new addicts report that their first drug experience was with prescription drugs.”