While the elderly population may seem like an unlikely demographic in the drug supply chain, drug dealers have begun honing in on that group as an easy target for illegally supplying prescription pain killers.
Unfortunately, in this time of economic uncertainty, many elderly are willing participants.
“It’s not uncommon to see drug dealers waiting outside of pharmacies,” begins a spokesperson for Mountainside
Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center. “They target the most vulnerable and one of the more vulnerable can be the elderly. They’ll offer a premium for their pain medication and, sometimes, they’ll even offer them a large sum to go to the doctor and fake pain to acquire a prescription. Many of the elderly within the US are struggling to make ends meet. In the face of intimidation and financial distress, it can be difficult for them to choose to do the right thing. We need to make sure that we let the elderly know about these types of schemes and the actions to take if they are approached.”
Mountainside offers the following four tips for the elderly and their families when getting prescriptions filled:
• If you have any questions about your prescriptions, take advantage of the private counseling areas that many pharmacies offer so that none of your private details are revealed to potential listening ears.
• While at the store, never dispose of old medicine bottles with labels, pharmacy bags with details or inserts from pharmacy bags at that may outline the types of medication that you are taking.
• When at home, make certain that you destroy any information that could give details about the medications you are prescribed. Drug dealers have been known to sift through garbage outside of houses to find information about who to target for their chosen drug.
• Dispose of your old medications safely through one of the many “Drug Take Back Days” offered throughout the country. You can also visit your local community health center as, in most cases, they are willing to take in your unused or old medication and dispose of it for you.
Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center is dedicated to helping the nation reduce the incidence of addiction. Protecting the elderly is just one of the ways Mountainside suggests as a tool to combat the war on drugs in the United States.
Within its modern drug rehab facility, are skilled professionals serving a variety of clients with various addictions and in varying stages of addiction. The caring, compassionate team is made up of licensed and certified social workers and counselors who have extensive experience and specialty in the addiction treatment field. In addition, the staff includes a Nurse Practitioner, as well as a Registered Nurse, both of whom also have specializations and experience within the field of addiction treatment and alcohol rehab.
Mountainside also provides services for those individuals who come to them with dual diagnoses and require the services of a Psychiatrist to help conquer the unique challenges that dual diagnosis brings.
For the past 13 years, Mountainside has established itself as an innovator within the addiction treatment field, and the treatment modalities Mountainside utilizes are regarded as among the most cutting-edge approaches in helping individuals to get, and to remain, sober. As a result of their unique, innovative approaches to addiction treatment, Mountainside has become the model for the addiction treatment field.
The program, along with its professional addiction treatment team, have earned national recognition and resulted in Mountainside being invited to Washington by the White House to meet with the White House Drug Czar, John P. Walters, for an in-depth meeting on what makes its program so successful. These accolades did not go unnoticed within the addiction treatment field and resulted in the adoption by many throughout the country of a more holistic approach to drug addiction treatment.
If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol, or if you have any questions, please contact Mountainside
Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center for a confidential inquiry at 800-762-5433.
