Opiate Addiction and Prescription Drug Abuse: A Pragmatic Approach

Reductions in prescription opioid diversion following recent legislative interventions in Florida

“…National data reflect concomitant increases in adverse medical consequences, with prescription opioid abuse‐related emergency department visits rising 156% between 2004 and 2011 . The rapid escalation in prescription opioid abuse over the past 15 years has been attributed to a variety of factors, including increased prescribing by physicians, ease of accessibility, and perceptions of drug safety …”

“…2 The rapid escalation in prescription opioid abuse over the past 15 years has been attributed to a variety of factors, including increased prescribing by physicians, ease of accessibility, and perceptions of drug safety. [3][4][5][6] Florida has been at the center of the nation's prescription opioid epidemic, with the proliferation of pain clinics, "pill mills," and lax prescribing oversight cited as significant contributors to the serious problem in the state. [7][8][9] Drug Enforcement Administration data for the first half of 2010 documented that oxycodone purchases by dispensing doctors in Florida totaled more than all other states combined.…”

Health and Social Problems Associated With Prescription Opioid Misuse Among a Diverse Sample of Substance-Using MSM

“…The growing epidemic of prescription opioid misuse and related problems can be in part attributed to increased prescribing, availability, accessibility, and accepted medical use (Hasan & Hasan, 2011; Lankenau, Teti, et al, 2012; McCabe, Teter, & Boyd, 2006). The National Survey of Drug Use and Health found that the numbers of new, non-medical users of prescription opioids increased from 600,000 in 1990 to 2 million in 2010.…”