Prescription Drug Overdose Epidemic….up 61% in Florida
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a new report that undoubtedly surprised many across our nation: In Florida alone, prescription (Rx) drug overdoses claimed 16,650 lives from 2003 to 2009 — an average of eight deaths a day.
Rx drug overdoses have been a devastating problem in Florida, spread by the silence and misunderstanding over addiction and by the underworld “pill mill” economy run by rogue doctors and pharmacists who encourage “doctor shopping.”
The CDC report show that annual prescription drug overdose deaths jumped by 61 percent, from 1,804 to 2,905, during those years. Prescription medications, for example, were implicated in 76 percent of all drug overdose deaths in Florida, while illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine were implicated in 33 percent of the deaths.
Prescription drug abuse is, unfortunately, a part of daily life across Florida and across the country.
Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem across the country and our kids are in the midst of it. Pharm Parties are stocked from medicine cabinets at home.
Do you see indications of this growing problem?
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