In an effort to help raise awareness to the Nation’s growing problem with prescription drug abuse, the Drug Demand Reduction Program at Altus AFB will be hosting a Prescription Drug Take Back Event this Saturday, Nov. 6. The event will be held at the Security Forces Base Housing Substation (240B Cedar Lane) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local Drug Task Force Agents will facilitate the collection process. The drugs will be taken to a state facility for destruction.

In June of this year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released the following information as part of a news release drawing attention to the due the increase in non-medical prescription drug abuse.

From 2004 to 2008 the estimated number of emergency department visits linked to the non-medical use of prescription pain relievers rose from 144,644 visits to 305,885 visits a year.

Visits to hospital emergency departments involving non-medical use of prescription narcotic pain relievers more than doubled, rising 111 percent, between 2004 and 2008, according to a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study used data from SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) emergency department system. It examined emergency department visits for non-medical use of legal drugs, such as using them without a prescription.

The dramatic rise in emergency department visits associated with non-medical use of these drugs occurred among men and women, as well as among those younger than age 21 and those 21 and older.

“The abuse of prescription drugs is our nation’s fastest-growing drug problem. And this new study shows it is a problem that affects men and women, people under 21, and those over 21,”said Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske. ``The newly released National Drug Control Strategy contains specific steps that all of us can take to address this issue.”

The three prescription opioid pain relievers most frequently involved in hospital emergency department visits from 2004 to 2008 were:

 • Oxycodone products – ED visits involving non-medical use rose 152 percent, to 105,214.

 • Hydrocodone products – emergency department visits involving non-medical use rose 123 percent, to 89,051.

 • Methadone products – emergency department visits involving non-medical use rose 73 percent, to 63,629.

 “These alarming findings provide one more example of how the misuse of prescription pain relievers is impacting lives and our health care system,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. “This public health threat requires an all-out effort to raise awareness of the public about proper use, storage, and disposal of these powerful drugs.”

The numbers of emergency department visits involving non-medical use of other types of prescription pain relievers such as morphine, fentanyl and hydromorphone were lower, but they also showed sharp rises during this period – for example, hydromorphone-related non-medical use visits rose 259 percent from 2004, to 12,142 in 2008. These upward trends reflect in part dramatic increases in the rate at which these drugs are prescribed in the United States.

“We urgently need to take action,” said CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden. “Emergency department visits involving non-medical use of these prescription drugs are now as common as emergency department visits for use of illicit drugs. These prescriptions medicines help many people, but we need to be sure they are used properly and safely.”

For the full article and more information on prescription drug abuse and misuse, go to http://www.samhsa.gov. The National Family Partnership has also launched its new “Lock Your Meds” Campaign which focuses on adolescent abuse of prescription drugs. You can find more information at their website, http://www.nfp.org or http://www.lockyourmeds.org.

The Drug Demand Reduction Program can be reached at 580-481-5998.