I’ve been teaching healthcare providers for the past 12 years that there is no such thing as a bad prescription drug; it’s how they’re used and who they are used with that can have positive or negative consequences.  For example, I know that a lot of people have died from OxyContin, but I have yet to see one documented case where the person who died was taking it “exactly as prescribed.”

I agree that prescription drug abuse and addiction is a very big problem but the “War on Drugs” type of approach just can’t fix this healthcare issue.  In fact, I also believe that many people in chronic pain are not getting the pain relief they need and deserve due to the fear-mongering that comes from the DEA and other political sources that demonize pain patients and pain doctors.  To read more about my thoughts please read my article “War on Drugs—War on Pain Management” by going to:

http://www.addiction-free.com/articles/articles/view/war-on-drugs-war-on-pain-management

I received a recent up date from Join Together titled “Prescription Drugs Blamed for Rising Overdose Deaths.”  In part, this update reported that overall sales of prescription drugs have increased almost 500 percent since 1990.  To link to the full page please go to:

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2008/prescription-drugs-blamed-for.html