“Why wasn’t I warned? Why couldn’t I have been told upfront, before starting the drug, that the possibility of severe withdrawal existed.” The woman asking this question was lucky - she managed to end her prescription drug addiction after only a year. But many don’t. And many go through symptoms far worse than she experienced.

The drug she was trying to quit was the antidepressant Cymbalta. She gradually reduced the dosage. Other antidepressants are just as bad. Painkillers are even worse - OxyContin addiction, for example, is similar to heroin: People taking OxyContin will experience the same withdrawal symptoms as heroin addicts. 95% of the heroin addicts who try to get off the drug on their own can’t take it and wind up getting back on the drug.

Another woman who was taking antidepressants said that when she went on a short trip and forgot her medication the withdrawal symptoms were excrutiating.

Don’t fool yourself - prescription drug addiction is very real. Your best bet is not to take them in the first place if at all possible. But if it’s already too late for that, a good drug detox program can help with withdrawal to make it more comfortable and a drug rehab program can help with the addiction end of things. However, it’s important to make sure that whatever center you choose isn’t just familiar with street drugs, they should have some experience in prescription drug addiction help.

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It used to be that kids who were involved in sports were cleaner,  i.e. not as involved in drugs, than other kids. Being in good form so you could be a good athlete demanded it. But that’s all changed - even for the very young. A football coach in Boston has just received two years probation, a shockingly lenient sentence, after spending seven years introducing OxyContin and other drugs to his players, the oldest of whom is 15. His personal drug problem started with an injury and prescription drug addiction. Instead of going to drug rehab he went on to heroin, and started selling drugs to his students. Many of them will now be facing the same drug addiction problems he had.

Prescription drug addiction in schools has become epidemic. Some students are taking prescription drugs to get high, others are using them to stay awake for study, and athletes are taking them to relieve pain so they can keep on playing despite injury.

Parents, it’s more important than ever that you become well-versed in what’s going on in the schools - whether your kid is 5 years old or in college - and educate your kids on the dangers of prescription drugs. You may think your kid is clean and wholesome and would never try drugs but, unfortunately, prescription drugs don’t carry the same stigma. Wholesome kids who would never consider taking street drugs don’t think prescription drugs are a problem - after all, they are given out by doctors, how dangerous can they be?

In fact, many of them are worse than street drugs. Prescription drug addiction is harder to kick than many of the other drugs they might run into. The solution is education - parents whose kids talk to them about drugs are 50% less likely to get involved in them - and, if they’ve already started taking them, the answer is a drug rehab program. And do it fast. The longer you wait, the more dangerous it is, and the more ugly it could get. 

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It seems somewhat strange to me that when you check out the news about alcohol and drug addiction you find literally hundreds of stories about three or four celebrities and not very much about the actual drug scene. In colleges for example, the education of thousands of kids is going down the drain because of alcohol, street drugs and prescription drug addiction. And those kids, not Amy Winehouse, are our future. If these kids don’t get into drug rehab, they’re going to leave college as alcoholics and drug addicts.

And their kids, in turn, may well turn out to be the same.  

Parents, if that’s not what you want for your kids, and your grandkids, stop the cycle now. Don’t look at alcohol as just a normal thing all kids go through when they get to college. And find out if they’re taking drugs - just about any drug your kid is likely to be taking right now has the potential for drug addiction. And they’re dangerous.

Get your kids into a drug rehab program. A good one will address the reasons behind the alcohol or drug addiction problem and you can then feel safe about your kids being in college.

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In a recent letter to Dear Abby, parents who had been checking their son’s instant messages, with his knowledge, discovered that their son was considering using marijuana and that a friend he was messaging was offering it to him. They also found out that the ‘friend’ was the source for marijuana for several kids. The parents were primarily concerned about how to inform the other parents that their son was dealing drugs. Abby advised them to speak to them parents quickly and directly. Good advice: Who knows how many kids they’ll save from drug addiction and the need for drug rehab?

Although reading your son’s instant messages may seem extreme or invasive, you have to catch drugs early and take decisive action immediately if you want to have a good chance to prevent durg addiction. Also, kids whose parents talk to them about alcohol and drugs are 50% less likely to use them.

Kids are drinking and taking drugs younger and younger. Unfortunately, many of the treatment facilities don’t even take kids under 18. You’re going to have a big problem on your hands if you can’t get professional help. Getting people off drugs or alcohol - no matter what their age - isn’t easy.

Make sure you talk to your kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and, if they’re already involved in them, get them into a drug rehab program as fast as possible.

Popularity: 26% [?]

We’ve been trying to get this point across for a while now - prescription drug addiction is a serious problem. Fortunately, we’re getting some help from the media: “Mention the words “drug abuse” and most people probably don’t think of “prescription drugs.”  perhaps they should,” began an article on wlox.com out of Biloxi, MS. Not only should we think about it - we should be doing everything we can to stop it. Drug rehab is a good start for those who already have a problem, and education is the answer for those who haven’t started yet.

But what is the answer for Big Pharma? Purdue Pharma was fined $634 million for lying to the public about OxyContin, Pfizer, the makers Xanax - which is apparently the most popular prescription drug in Biloxi - has numerous lawsuits filed against them, several other companies have also been sued, thousands have died, millions of lives have been ruined, and the drug companies keep getting sued and paying their fines - often settling out of court. But the fines mean nothing to them. It’s the wealthiest industry in the world.

Harrison County coroner Gary Hargrove, commenting on the number of prescription drug related deaths in Biloxi, hit the nail on the head: “Eventually, over a period of time of abuse, they’re going to see me. Or I’m going to see them.”

If you don’t want someone you care about to end up with the local coroner, educate them about prescription drugs or get them into a Missouri drug rehab program.  And if you agree that this destruction cannot continue, make yourself heard.

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Although it’s hard to tell exactly what good this will do yet, but the FDA is implementing a prescription drug surveillance program to look into problems with drugs. According to a recent news article, this move is in response to Vioxx being pulled off the market in 2004 when it was linked to heart attacks and strokes. My hope is that something like this will also help curtail the rampant prescription drug addiction epidemic that is exponentially increasing the need for drug rehab. 

This new surveillance program is supposed to allow the FDA access to information that was previously considered trade secrets or protected by privacy laws. I’m not sure which privacy laws are being referred to - I would hope it doesn’t involve the protection of an individual’s privacy - but trade secrets are another story, especially if this refers to the trade secrets of big pharma. Really, should an industry that controls the life and death of each individual and probably should be subject to the hippocratic oath be allowed to have trade secrets?

It’s more of an issue now than ever - I couldn’t even fathom a guess at how many people are suffering from prescription drug addiction or how many would need a drug rehab program to end it, but it’s clearly many millions more than reflected in the statistics put out by SAMHSA and other agencies.

Still, with the drug industry so intricately woven into the fabric of American society, it’s not likely much will change regardless of FDA monitoring. Our best chance of surviving this epidemic is to discourage the use of prescription drugs for non-life threatening situations, and to get anyone we know who is battling prescription drug addiction or dependency into a drug rehab program so they can be drug-free, and safe.

Popularity: 26% [?]

For the second time in a week, a Cape Coral, Florida, student was caught with a bag of pills - prescription drugs. He bought the bag for $20 from another student. It contained the usual fare  - an antibiotic, a sleep aid and two types of painkillers - but it also contained a blood thinner that’s very similar to rat poison. Whoever takes these pills likely has more in store for them than drug rehab.

A pharmacist commented on the incident: “It’s a dangerous thing. It can kill,” he said. “To hear something like this being thrown in the mix is really scary because that means somebody’s going in someone’s cabinet, grabbing everything, and then selling it to whomever. They might think they’re getting a Vicodin and they might not have a clue what they’re getting.”

Who else is getting rat poision from their friends?

One of the major problems with drugs is that you often don’t really know what you’re taking or how you’ll react to it. There’s probably no question about whether someone would react negatively to rat poison, but an awful lot of people have died, overdosed, or wound up in the emergency ward just from taking the drugs - you really don’t need rat poison to get sick. Or worse.

Someone who’s already taking prescription drugs may not really consider taking drugs to be much of a problem - drugs do cloud your perception and, generally, disassociate you from reality. And they probably don’t think it’s necessry for them to stop. Well, that’s mostly the drugs talking. Get that person into a drug rehab program and I can pretty much promise you that their attitude will be different in a short while. And they’ll be safe. 

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A pharmacy on the Michigan Tech campus has been robbed for the second time in a month. All the thieves take is prescription drugs. Prescription drug addiction is a big problem in Michigan, but it’s the same all over the U.S. at this point. There are probably millions of people who need to get into a drug rehab because of prescription drug addiction, dependency and abuse.

“It starts in high school,” said local police chief, John Donnelly.  “It carries over to college.  We’ve also seen a lot of it in the professional world.”  In fact, it starts a lot sooner than that. Even grade school kids are taking them.

Parents have to be diligent. Did you know that most parents don’t find out their kids are taking drugs until the kids have already been taking them for six months to two years? At that point, they already need drug rehab.

If you know someone taking prescription drugs, it’s best to get them into a drug rehab program early. As with street drugs, the longer a person has a drug problem the less chance there is of them ever recovering.

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Centers offering drug rehab in Florida - the pill capital of the U.S. - are probably used to kids with prescription drug addiction problems showing up for treatment. But Florida’s not the only state with a problem: According to a recent news article, Kentucky and Indiana also have big prescription drug problems.  Will drug rehab centers have to open special facilities for kids?

Most drug rehab centers only service those over the age of 18. The two girls in this news story started when they were 13. They’re now 16 and 17, and in rehab.

Really, the future is starting to look surreal: Millions of teenagers addicted to the prescription drugs they find in their parents medicine cabinets, millions turning into drug addicts while they’re still in their teens, and millions needing drug rehab.

What can we do about it? Parents, find out about the drug scene today and talk to your kids about the dangers of prescription drugs. Kids whose parents talk to them about it are 50% less likely to get involved. And lock up the drugs in the house or get rid of them. And, for those kids who already have a problem, get them into a drug rehab program fast.

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Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, is a party drug that is not considered to be addictive. Here’s the story of one young man, Jeff, who, at 18, had been addicted to Ecstasy for three years when he was stopped by police. To hide the evidence, he swallowed all 16 pills in his possession. He wound up in the hospital. He’s now been clean for two years. Unfortunately, he did it the hard way - without the aid of a drug rehab program - but he made it.

Jeff started taking Ecstasy when he was 16. His habit grew to about $450 a week, and he was stealing to be able to afford it. He became seriously debilitated - went from 180 lbs to 90 in just a few months.

“What parents should know,” Jeff said in a recent news report, “is not only are the drugs bad, but so are the people dealing them. Most keep rifles and some have hand guns. If you cross them or aren’t able to pay them I guarantee they will not think twice about busting down your door and shooting you in the head. I’ve been there.”

Not quite the party Ecstasy users count on.

If you know someone taking Ecstasy, get them into a drug rehab program. Being stopped by the police was a stroke of good luck for Jeff. Who knows how long he would have laster otherwise.

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