The United States has a problem, a big problem. Prescription drug abuse is taking over. For example, only 7% of OxyContin users got the drug from a doctor and 13% bought it from a drug dealer or other stranger. Nearly two-thirds got the drug from a friend or relative.
The new Obama Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan calls on Congress to amend the Controlled Substances Act with a new requirement: that health care practitioners learn appropriate uses for opioid medicines and how to screen patients for drug abuse before they can get a Drug Enforcement Administration license to prescribe controlled substances.
The official plan can be found in a link at the bottom of this article, but some of the major initiatives include education, monitoring, proper medication disposal and enforcement.
Education, a crucial first step in tackling the problem of prescription drug abuse is intended to educate parents, youth, and patients about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs while requiring prescribers to receive education on the appropriate and safe use, and proper storage and disposal of prescription drug.
Another major goal is to begin prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) in every state, and enhance PDMPs to make sure they can share data across states and are used by healthcare providers.
It is also very important that excess drugs are thrown away properly and safely. The government will attempt to install convenient and environmentally responsible prescription drug disposal programs to help decrease the supply of unused prescription drugs in the home.
Law enforcement will also get additional support with the tools necessary to eliminate improper prescribing practices and stop “doctor shoppers” or drug-seeking behavior.
Congress must require special training for doctors and other health care workers before they are allowed to prescribe powerful drugs such as OxyContin, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said Tuesday.
Instances of recreational use and diversion of OxyContin have increased in the U.S. beginning in the late 1990s. A 2003 study by the Government Accountability Office found three factors that may have contributed to the illicit use and distribution of OxyContin in the U.S.
- OxyContin contains a large amount of oxycodone compared with other types of oxycodone containing pills.
- OxyContin’s warning label said to not crush the controlled-release tablets because of the potential for rapid release of oxycodone, which led to many people crushing the tablets and injecting or snorting the drug.
- By 2001, sales of OxyContin in the U.S. exceeded $1 billion per year.
Purdue Pharma, that manufactures the drug, has attempted to reformulate the 10 to 40 mg strengths of OxyContin to prevent the release of a high percentage of the oxycodone by crushing; however, in 2008 a joint panel convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was “concerned that abusers could find a way to manipulate the new formulation.”
In 2010, Purdue Pharma introduced ‘Oxycontin OP’, Purdue Pharma predicts that abuse of higher dose formulations such as ‘OxyContin’ will go down, but this change may cause heavy recreational users to resort to other drugs such as heroin or may increase the number of deaths caused by acetaminophen poisoning from users attempting to take similar doses of drugs like ‘Percocet’ or ‘Vicodin’ to get similar effects.
American Medical Association President Cecil Wilson said his organization supports the intent of the drug abuse prevention plan but is concerned “that a key element of this strategy that relies on industry to develop educational materials and initiatives to train prescribers could in the future become a mandatory part of the DEA registration process for prescribing controlled substances.”
For the full plan titled Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis, click HERE.
Additional Source: United States General Accounting Office
Written by Sy Kraft