This week of In The Headlines talks about the ways that prescription drugs destroy lives, and the ways they are being obtained:
Prescription Drug Abuse Destroys Lives With Death and Crime Article
Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland gauges the area’s prescription drug abuse problem by how often he has to ask a family to identify the body of someone who overdosed. Lackawanna County had 48 deaths related to prescription medicine abuse in 2012. Since 2008, the county has had an average of 41 such deaths per year.
Risks of Buying Prescription Drugs Online Article
Nina Ossana says her sister was lured into buying mass quantities from questionable providers. The drugs were obtained online and over the phone. Sadly, her sister took her own life and Nina is determined to find out why.
“My sister was a police officer and she had a very stressful job and she was taking prescription drugs.”
“In the weeks after she died, I got 100,000 doses of these drugs. There is no reason for anyone to have that many doses of any drugs.
Abuse of prescription attention-deficit disorder medications on the rise Article
James sees his doctor during semester breaks when he’s home in Massachusetts, where he gets his Focalin prescriptions. Observing the way his freshman roommate uses Adderall to get school work done taught him something about managing his ADHD.
Driving Risk on Prescribed Drugs Article
Drivers under the influence of prescription drugs could pose a more widespread road risk than those under the influence of illegal drugs, research by an insurance company suggests.
