As prescription drug abuse continues to rise exponentially across the nation, Athens County is no exception to this emerging epidemic.
Nationally, emergency room visits have risen to 1.2 million in 2009 for prescription drug abuse from only 627,000 in 2004, according to a study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The administration also noted that the number of individuals seeking treatment for prescription drug abuse rose 400 percent between 1998 and 2008.
We continue to see a very high level of prescription drug abuse in our area
said Dr. Joe Gay, executive director of Health Recovery Services.
There are several problems unique to prescription drug abuse, Gay said. Not only are they readily available, but people tend to underestimate how dangerous they are.
Because they have a legitimate medical use people view them as not particularly dangerous even though they are
Gay said. They are quite capable of causing a deathly overdose.
The abuse of prescription drugs has been increasing over the past few years.
I personally think it has to do with access
Gay said. There is data from the DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency) and state department of health showing a direct correspondence between prescription drugs supplied and related deaths
as well as treatment for (abuse).
Most abuse of prescription drugs originates from legitimate prescriptions, he said. This factor makes them even more dangerous.
According to a study in Fairfield County
50 percent of high school seniors had prescriptions for drugs in their house - this gives them extremely easy access
Gay said.
Athens County has had a permissive attitude towards drug and alcohol
Gay said. The county is the in top three percent overall in the state suffering from opioid abuse, he added.
Due to the rising epidemic, a new campaign has emerged on campus to help raise awareness of the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
Generation Rx Outreach Program, a campaign run through Cardinal Health, has come to Ohio University in order to reach out to college students, who create a major demographic, said Grace Naugle, a representative of the campaign.
The campaign is currently in the process of creating posters, pamphlets and presentations to spread their message against abuse, Naugle said, adding that the campaign should go public during the week of Feb. 20 to March 4.
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