Health News
Despite Georgia's recent move to implement a system that will track prescription pill use, a national system is needed to help prevent the problem flowing "to the next crack in the system," the Lexington Herald-Leader says in an editorial today.
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Health News
National system needed to battle pill abuse, newspaper says
Despite Georgia's recent move to implement a system that will track prescription pill use, a national system is needed to help prevent the problem flowing "to the next crack in the system," the Lexington Herald-Leader says in an editorial today. "We know it's popular now to howl about big government," the paper says. "But if a national government has any legitimate use, it is certainly to stop something like the pill pipeline that operates across state lines. . . . "As long as even a few states don't have monitoring systems the market will move to those areas of opportunity."
The piece cites a story that ran in the Herald-Leader May 17. In it, reporter Bill Estep discussed Georgia's move to approve a tracking system, meant to prevent people from "doctor shopping," filling the resulting prescriptions and selling the pills illegally. "Florida has been the leading source of pills flowing into Kentucky from outside the state, but Georgia has been a growing source of concern," Estep reported.
While Georgia's monitoring system is approved, money is still needed to fund it. "We hope Georgia will get those grants. But we'd be more optimistic if funding weren't based on hope," the paper says. "There's every indication the rate of prescription drug abuse is outpacing the monitoring system."
The editorial notes that overdose deaths in Kentucky continue to rise, doubling from 403 in 2000 to 978 in 2009: "Confirmed overdose deaths in Floyd County jumped from 15 in 2009 to 43 in 2010, according to Brent Turner, the commonwealth's attorney there. Florida averages seven overdose deaths a day." (Read more)
- Deaths From Drug Overdoses In Kentucky Hit New High In 2010; More Than Half Involved Prescription Drugs
Deaths from drug overdoses in Kentucky jumped to a new high in 2010, and "rose a staggering 296 percent from 2000 to 2010," Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. "A tidal wave of prescription-drug abuse drove the steep increase," with...
- New Florida Laws Helping Stem Flow Of Pills, But Loopholes Remain And Trade Is Shifting To Other States
Though pill mills continue to be a big problem in Florida, where lax laws have fueled Kentucky's prescription pill trade, there is evidence that the tides are slowly turning in the Sunshine State. "Registered pain clinics in Florida have dropped from...
- Drug Czar Offers Plan To Cut Abuse Of Oxycodone, Related Drugs
The White House drug czar announced today he wants to cut misuse of oxycodone and other opioid drugs by 15 percent in the next five years, and revealed his strategy for how to make that happen. Gil Kerlikowske, the national drug policy director, wants...
- Drug Czar Coming To Kentucky To Look At Prescription Pill Abuse
The White House drug czar will visit Kentucky next week to investigate prescription pill abuse, a problem he called "heartbreaking." In a four-day tour, Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama's chief advisor on drug issues, will meet with law-enforcement...
- Florida Is Slow To Close Valves On 'pill Pipeline'
The "pill pipeline" from Florida to Central Appalachia and other regions has not been closed despite the passage of laws in Florida to tighten controls on prescription painkillers, Bill Estep reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. (Herald-Leader photo:...