News / Health & Wellness
Getting Beyond Xanax
Is the anti-anxiety drug a quick fix or a drain on resources? Some doctors are stopping prescriptions altogether to wean patients off the popular medication.
The drug, and its generic version, alprazolam, has steadily risen in popularity. While it has helped in some cases when used as prescribed, the widespread use of Xanax has also led to widespread prescription abuse for more than a decade. Those concerned about prescription addiction have focused largely on narcotic painkiller addiction, but benzodiazepines, the class of sedatives that includes Xanax, are also widely misused or abused, often with very negative consequences.
Alprazolam was the eighth most prescribed drug in the nation last year, according to SDI, a data firm that tracks drug sales. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year reported an 89 percent increase in emergency room nationwide related to nonmedical benzodiazepine use between 2004 and 2008.
In hopes of helping to limit the damage, some state- and federally-funded healthcare providers are cutting off prescriptions for controlled substances. Not everyone is on board, though. Other doctors say that refusing to prescribe certain drugs under any circumstance is overly rigid, noting that Xanax helps many people who use it responsibly.
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