Sarah Cline* never thought she would become a prescription drug addict. Raised in a large middle-class family from western Pennsylvania, Sarah was brought up in a safe and healthy environment where she was taught morals. She was brought up well and knew difference between what was wrong and right. For Sarah, everything changed after a dental surgery where she was prescribed Vicodin.
“After I started using Vicodin I was hooked,” she says. “Everything I was taught as a child went out the window. I lied, I stole, I did whatever I could to get high and I hurt the people I loved the most, especially my family.”
After abusing Vicodin for several months, Sarah moved on to a harder drug, OxyContin, and within a year she was a full-blown heroin addict.
This story may sound familiar as Sarah is one of many in the area that have gotten sucked into the downward spiral of drug addiction.
Detective Thomas Keirn, a narcotics agent with the Cambia County Drug Task Force, who has been involved in drug investigations since the late with the 1980’s, has a lot of first-hand knowledge about this growing problem. “The abuse of prescription drugs is very high in this area and I have spoken to many pharmacists in the local area and they agree that many of the prescription drugs are being abused and over-prescribed by certain doctors,” he says. “This is a great concern to law enforcement on all levels of the government.”
In addition, Detective Keirn adds that the area has a large group of people who are addicted to painkillers and are now trading and selling their medications for profit and are making the jump into other illicit drugs. The two of the most common drugs they are moving to are heroin and crack cocaine, depending on the prescriptions the addicts first started out with.
So what is the solution for addicts in western Pennsylvania?
In Sarah Cline’s case, the only thing that helped her was going in to drug treatment. “I was lost,” she says. “I just wanted my next fix. My parents saw how far downhill I had gone and they offered me help. I went into a drug rehab program called Narconon and have been off drug for 8 years.”
Without treatment, many addicts in Pennsylvania face the negative consequences of addiction, namely prison or death.
“There have been many overdoses associated with painkillers in our area. Sometimes they are by mistake and others times intentional,” says Detective Keirn. “In either case the misuse of prescription pills is a very serious problem in our society and it is up to all of us to help combat drug abuse within our families and our circle of friends.”
Sarah Cline agrees. “If I hadn’t gone into drug treatment I would not be here today,” she says. “Getting help is the best way out of it. It was the only way for me to successfully overcome addiction.”
Narconon is a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program that achieves a success rate of more than 70% for permanent sobriety from addiction. If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction problem contact Narconon today at 877-237-3307.
*Name changed to protect confidentiality.
