The non-medical use of prescription drugs is identified as the use of the drug for the feeling or experience the drug causes—the high. The misuse of these powerful and potentially highly addictive drugs can involve taking too much or too little of the drug; or taking it too long or too often. Prescription drug abuse and addiction is a nationwide problem, with states attempting to put safeguards in place to curtail the escalation of abuse, and minimize the dire consequences. The state of Missouri stands alone on the issue of a prescription drug database.
Prescription Drug Abuse in Missouri
According to the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ADA), there are a number of prescription drugs commonly abused in the state. Specifically named are the opioids such as Vicodin and OxyContin, the depressants Valium and Xanax, and the stimulants Adderall, Ritalin and Dexedrine.
The ADA reports the abuse of prescription opioids especially has contributed to a “significant increase” in drug overdose deaths nationwide, with the number of prescription opioid-caused overdose deaths greater than cocaine and heroin combined.
The ADA also reports prescription opioid abuse has been implicated in the increasing rates of heroin abuse as prescription drug formulations are changed in an effort to make their abuse more difficult.
As is common across the nation, those misusing and abusing prescription opioids most often get the drugs from family members or friends, often for free.
Approximately 3,200 Missourians enter substance abuse treatment annually due to a prescription drug-abuse problem.
The most commonly abused prescription medication is Xanax (39%), next is Oxycontin
(24%), and third is Vicodin (23%). Together, these three prescription drugs account for nearly 86 percent of the total prescription drug abuse by individuals entering drug rehabilitation treatment in the state.
The drugs Oxycontin and Vicodin are more likely to be identified as the primary substance of abuse, which is an indication of their significant impairment on a person’s quality of life when these two drugs abused.
The AMA reported that most individuals in Missouri who were admitted to treatment for a prescription drug problem are also abusing alcohol and/or marijuana.
The Show Me State
Missouri is nicknamed the The Show Me State, and although the origins of its slogan are attributed to different sources, its nickname indicates the conservative, non-credulous and stalwart character of Missourians.
With prescription painkiller abuse, addiction, and overdoses a huge problem across the nation, 49 states have implemented databases in an effort to track excess prescriptions, overprescribing, doctor shopping and pill mills.
Missouri stands alone on this issue, the one state holding-out and declining to create a prescription monitoring program. Missouri law enforcement officials maintain that a lack of such a program makes it more difficult to tackle drug abuse in the state; and that it brings in addicts and drug dealers from the eight states Missouri borders.
According to a New York Times article, a St.Louis emergency room physician is quoted as saying, “Welcome to Missouri—America’s drugstore.” Furthermore, the physician expressed his view that Missouri is not just permitting abuse, but is creating “a business model for dealers”.
On the other hand, Missouri Senator Rob Schaaf, backed by a reportedly small group of lawmakers has effectively blocked the introduction of a state database, based on it being a privacy issue.
Senator Schaaf holds his ground based on his belief that he is protecting people’s liberty. He suggests that other states follow Missouri’s lead; protecting the liberty of their citizens, as well.
Being that liberty is a founding principle of our nation, it is a point well-taken that it does need protecting. Perhaps a real solution to curtailing prescription drug abuse and its damage demands that it be addressed at its source, Big Pharma, rather than only attempting to run damage control on the end-users.
Sources:
http://www.newser.com/story/191243/only-1-state-rejects-prescription-drug-database.html
http://dmh.mo.gov/docs/ada/rpts/Bulletins/Bulletin2012AugRxDrugAbuseMo.pdf