The rise in prescription drug abuse threatens the health of many Floridians. According to the Grand Jury Interim Report in Broward County, FL, from the Florida State Attorney's office, there is a huge increase in prescription drug use and illegal trafficking in the state currently.
This has been seen on the drug treatment side as well as Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers have noted an increase in prescription drug addiction admissions. Because of this Narconon is doing all it can with its drug education and prevention lectures to inform youth and adults that it is not just street drugs are becoming more and more of a problem as well as increasing the numbers of people going into Narconon drug treatment programs.
Unfortunately, prescription drugs are often easier to obtain than street drugs and one need not reach further then the medicine cabinet to set oneself on a path of serious addiction.
According to the most recent Grand Jury report, with the aftermath of 9-11, the United States has been strengthening our borders causing drug traffickers have had a harder time transporting illegal drugs into the country. What happened was that dealers started diverting legal drugs for illegal purposes.
This has greatly affected the state of Florida as, in South Florida alone the growth of pain clinics distributing legal pain killers is enormous. In 2007, four pain clinics operated. By 2008 it swelled to 66. From August 2008 to November 2009 the number of pain clinics opening and operating in South Florida exploded from 66 to 176.
Over 53 % of the nations, Oxycodone is distributed by 43 doctors located in Broward County in South Florida. The drug traffickers found their new revenue stream in prescription drugs. By sending in "patients" feigning painful conditions, large quantities of prescription drugs can be obtained.
Law enforcement also testified before the Grand Jury stating burglaries and robberies in the area of the pain clinics increased as well as street sales of prescription drugs, identity theft and organized crime activities.
For those hooked in by the dealers, the results have been traumatic for families. Overdose deaths in 2006 as reported by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission were 2,780. As prescription drugs have been flooded into South Florida communities, 10,036 deaths had detected levels of prescription drugs with 4,924 of those deaths directly related to prescription drugs.
The ultimate handling is people becoming more aware of the dangers of prescription drug addiction. This is where Narconon comes into play as the organization has been trying to get the message out about this by delivering drug prevention and education lectures for schools, businesses and community groups and continuing to provide effective rehabilitation solutions. The Narconon program has been effectively helping addicts overcome addiction since 1966 and achieves a more than 70% success rate for permanent recovery.
Narconon encourages adults to become informed of the dangers of prescription drug addiction and their side effects. If you know of someone struggling with addiction or would like more information on Narconon drug rehabilitation, education and prevention services contact Narconon East U.S. at 877-237-3307.
