PILLS THAT KILL

PILLS THAT KILL

Pills, Pills, Pills are everywhere. There are red ones, green ones, blue ones and yellow ones. Some will make a person go fast and others will make a person feel sleepy. Some pills will make a person thin and some will make a person not care if they are fat.

Pills are at parties and pills are at school. Pills are at “pain clinics” and pills are in dealers cars. Pills are in purses and pills are at bars.

And some pills are in dead bodies.

The Associated Press reported recently that the CDC noted that prescription-drug overdose has become the number one cause of accidental deaths in 16 states, outranking car crashes. While car crashes remain the number one accidental killer nationally, prescription drug overdose is not far behind. In 2006, 45000 Americans died from crashes while 39000 died from drug related causes.

Most of the deaths were from opiates like methadone, Vicodin, OxyContin and fentanyl.

Michael Jackson’s untimely death brought the prescription drug abuse problem back into the forefront of the public consciousness from the shadows, where most hoped it would stay, after the world was forced to say goodbye Anna Nicole and Heath Ledger.

A few weeks later the world heard that something similar had happened to DJ AM followed by good news that Burt Reynolds beat the odds and lived to tell his story of prescription drug abuse.

With 770 billion dollars in yearly sales of pharmaceuticals, it is no wonder that some are going to wind up in the wrong places with deadly consequences.

In a recent press conference Joseph A. Califano Jr., the National Center on

Drug Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University’s director and president said:

“Aggressive marketing of controlled drugs to physicians . . . is designed to increase profits with little regard for abuse potential, Our nation is in the throes of an epidemic of controlled prescription drug abuse and addiction.”

And it isn’t just adults that are being affected.

Every day 2500 youngsters age 12 to 17 try a painkiller for the first time and prescription drugs are more abused by teens than any illicit street drug, except for marijuana. This is according to the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Kids think that taking prescription drugs and over the counter medication for their next high is safer than street drugs and they are easy to get according to a survey done by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). This recent survey found that one in five teens can get prescription drugs within an hour and the most common source is their own home or friends.

There are many times when the proper medication is life saving and necessary.

But let’s get wise. There is no pill to bring the dead back to life.

This same survey found that two thirds of kids report that drugs are used, kept or sold at their school.

These “friends” or classmates providing the drugs are not likely to report the truth about abusing prescription drugs. That truth is that abuse can lead to paranoia, addiction, seizures or even death.

The stats on all of this aren’t pretty and are difficult to fathom. However there are two facts, which if not faced, will mean more suffering and more deaths.

If a person addicted to opiates does not get effective treatment, the chances are great that they will either adopt a lifelong addiction like methadone or overdose. There is very little chance that they will get clean on their own.

If aggressive drug prevention and education, adequate to speak over the constant advertising of pharmaceuticals, is not provided the numbers of prescription drug abuser and addicts will only rise, as will the deaths.

Narconon of Georgia tirelessly works on prevention measures while we work to save the lives of those already affected.

NARCONON OF GEORGIA PROVIDES EFFECTIVE DRUG TREATMENT WITH 76% SUCCESS RATE.

Call 877-413-3073 before it is too late. Our hot line is manned 24 hours a day.

Narconon is The New Life Program. Start Yours Today.

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