The battle to curb the ever-growing problem of prescription drug abuse has definitely gotten the attention of federal authorities. This Friday the U-S Attorney's Office will host a first-of-its-kind Prescription Drug Summit. It is an effort to educate the public about the growing problem of prescription drug abuse that is now an epidemic.
How A Family Was Devastated
A Buffalo, New York family is trying to recover from the devastation that occurred in their home this past June related to prescription drug abuse.
Here are the words of a very distressed father, Avi Israel
“Michael committed suicide on June 4th in our home while my wife and I were less than 20-feet away from him. This event, that morning have changed my life forever," said the 59-year-old Israel.
Israel blames his son's death on a mix of prescription drugs he was taking to treat a severe case Crohn's disease. The medicines were prescribed by various doctors.
"Michael had a medically and socially sanctioned addiction. Michael was prescribed opiate and psychotropic drugs without any kind of supervision or control nor was he or us, his parents, ever informed of the serve consequences of a long term use of those drugs," said Israel.
The key is that physicians and pharmacies work together to cross-reference and safe guard the amounts and types of medication patients are taking.
Half of DEA Undercover Buys are Prescription Drugs!
According to the DEA more than half of their undercover buys right now are for prescription drugs -- Oxycodone, Lortabs, Opanen and Phentol.
Prescription drug abuse is a major problem. If you or someone you care about is abusing prescription medication, please seek help immediately. If you prefer there are also online drug classes as well.