Do you know someone who is addicted to prescription medication? Do you have an inkling you might know someone addicted to pain pills? The odds are strong that someone you know is addicted to pills.
Prescription drug abuse is especially easy to hide. Let’s face it, our country is now facing a new challenge that is literally tearing at the fabric of our neighborhoods. It is an epidemic we never saw coming, and we were unable to brace for its wrath. Prescription drug abuse is affecting all walks of our society. It is tearing apart our families; it is a major contributor to criminal activity and reaches across all sectors of our community.
Bold-Facing Figures!
There are two areas that especially concern me with respect to prescription abuse – child abuse and foster care.
The first sign of trouble was the discovery that approximately 30 percent of the children coming into foster care during this period was due to parental pain pill abuse. There was a significant increase of children entering the foster care system, primarily due to prescription abuse.
During this time, 70 percent of the children coming into foster care were attributed to prescription medication abuse. This is an alarming statistic.
To put it into perspective. this abuse indicator was higher than physical abuse, other forms of drug abuse, neglect and abandonment combined. These families are in chaos at the time an abuse report is investigated. Many of them have lost their jobs, are losing their homes, are experiencing significant family conflict and are now losing their children to foster care. Their addiction to pain medication is ruining lives and tearing apart families at a rate higher than we have ever seen in our community.
Every day more than seven people die in the State of Florida alone from prescription drug abuse! It’s shattering the lives of families and children. Let's not lose any more. Let’s have more drug classes and more funds used to prevent prescription medication abuse than jailing.