I remember a scene from The Osbournes where son Jack, recently released from drug rehab, talks about finding a few stray particles of OxyContin dust in his pocket. He immediately consumed them as if his life depended on it. The craving was overwhelming. His description made the feeling of addiction palpable.
Some facts and statistics:
• Physicans and other healthcare professionals abuse legal substances at the same rate as the general public.
• The number of emergency room visits for the abuse of legal, prescription drugs now equals the number of visits for illegal drugs. The number of visits has doubled in just five years.
• Unintentional poisoning from legal drugs is the leading cause of (unintentional) death among people between 35 and 54 years olds.
• Twenty percent of high school students have taken prescription drugs that weren’t prescribed for them. More students have used legal drugs than have used cocaine, methamphetamine, or ecstasy. They attend “pharm” parties. College students use Ritalin and Adderal to improve their grades.
• When celebrities die suddenly and unexpectedly these days, we’re treated to a laundry list of their prescriptions (Michael Jackson, Brittany Murphy, Corey Haim).
